FickvsFockConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,763
“Fick” frequency rank
#48,895
“Fock” frequency rank
51658
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fick Fock
Definition Geschlechtsverkehr ein kleineres Vorsegel, welches am Mast nicht überlappt; auf Yachten wird es bei Starkwind statt einer Genua angeschlagen

Where the eye mixes Fick and Fock

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

4 ch
Fick
4 ch
Fock

Visual trap between Fick and Fock

A purely visual mix-up. Fick ([fɪk]) and Fock ([fɔk]) 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 a single letter - i in “Fick” becomes o in “Fock”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fick is recorded at frequency rank #2,763, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɪk]. Fock is at rank #48,895, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɔk].

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 51658, this pair ranks #1,127,110 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Fick vs Fock

Shared letters: cfk. Private to "Fick": i. Private to "Fock": o.

"Fick" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Fock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fickfcik · ffick · ficck · fickk · fikc · ifck
  • Fockfcok · ffock · focck · fockk · fokc · ofck

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Fick" for "Fock" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɪk] versus [fɔk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fick" or "Fock"?
"Fick" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,763 in our German list, against #48,895 for "Fock". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fock" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,127,110 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fick" and "Fock" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fack vs Fock". 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 #1,127,110 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