DocsvsdokuWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,217
“Docs” frequency rank
#7,031
“doku” frequency rank
52248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Docs doku
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Doc Akkusativ Singular des Substantivs doks

Where the eye mixes Docs and doku

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Docs
4 ch
doku

Visual trap between Docs and doku

A purely visual mix-up. Docs ([dɔks]) and doku ([ˈdoku]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Docs is recorded at frequency rank #45,217, classified as anoun, pronounced [dɔks]. doku is at rank #7,031, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdoku].

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 52248, this pair ranks #1,104,269 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Docs vs doku

Shared letters: do. Private to "Docs": cs. Private to "doku": ku.

"Docs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "doku" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Docsdcos · ddocs · doccs · docss · dosc · odcs
  • dokuddoku · dkou · dokku · douk · odku

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Docs" for "doku" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([dɔks] versus [ˈdoku]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Docs" or "doku"?
"doku" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,031 in our German list, against #45,217 for "Docs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Docs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "doku" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,104,269 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Docs" and "doku" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Docks vs Docs". 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 #1,104,269 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