Which to use
“jo” is a particle and “Joke” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,460
- “jo” frequency rank
- #24,394
- “Joke” frequency rank
- 27854
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | jo | Joke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nein | eine kleine (fiktive) Erzählung, Geschichte oder dergleichen, die zum Lachen anregen soll |
Where the eye mixes jo and Joke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: jo vs Joke
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: jo is [jɔ] while Joke is [d͡ʒoʊ̯k]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “jo” sits inside “Joke”, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
jo is recorded at frequency rank #3,460, classified as aparticle, pronounced [jɔ]. Joke is at rank #24,394, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d͡ʒoʊ̯k].
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 27854, this pair ranks #1,794,739 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of jo vs Joke
Shared letters: jo. Private to "jo": -. Private to "Joke": ek.
"jo" · 2 letters · shape CV · "Joke" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Joke ← jjoke · jkoe · joek · jokke · ojke
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "jo" for "Joke" ever safe?
Which is more common, "jo" or "Joke"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "jo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Joke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,794,739 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "jo" and "Joke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Jockey vs Joke". 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 #1,794,739 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.