CPUvsCPUsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“CPU” and “CPUs” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,404
“CPU” frequency rank
#45,837
“CPUs” frequency rank
57241
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature CPU CPUs
Definition Hauptprozessor in einem Computer Nominativ Plural des Substantivs CPU

Where the eye mixes CPU and CPUs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
CPU
4 ch
CPUs

Why the eye confuses CPU with CPUs

A purely visual mix-up. CPU ([t͡seːpeːˈʔuː]) and CPUs ([t͡seːpeːˈʔuːs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “CPU” sits inside “CPUs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57241, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

CPU is recorded at frequency rank #11,404, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡seːpeːˈʔuː]. CPUs is at rank #45,837, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡seːpeːˈʔuːs].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 57241, this pair ranks #909,001 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of CPU vs CPUs

Shared letters: cpu. Private to "CPU": -. Private to "CPUs": s.

"CPU" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "CPUs" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • CPUsccpus · cppus · cpsu · cpuss · pcus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "CPU" and "CPUs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t͡seːpeːˈʔuː] versus [t͡seːpeːˈʔuːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "CPU" vs "CPUs" - which ranks higher?
"CPU" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,404 in our German list, against #45,837 for "CPUs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "CPU" and "CPUs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "CPU" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "CPUs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #909,001 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "CPU" and "CPUs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCS vs CPUs". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #909,001 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list