Which to use
“Joke” and “Joker” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,394
- “Joke” frequency rank
- #12,515
- “Joker” frequency rank
- 36909
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Joke | Joker |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine kleine (fiktive) Erzählung, Geschichte oder dergleichen, die zum Lachen anregen soll | Spielkarte von besonderem Wert, kann andere Karten ersetzen |
Where the eye mixes Joke and Joker
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Joke runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Joker's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Joke with Joker
A purely visual mix-up. Joke ([d͡ʒoʊ̯k]) and Joker ([ˈjoːkɐ]) 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) - “Joke” sits inside “Joker”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Joke is recorded at frequency rank #24,394, classified as anoun, pronounced [d͡ʒoʊ̯k]. Joker is at rank #12,515, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈjoːkɐ].
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 36909, this pair ranks #1,603,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Joke vs Joker
Shared letters: ejko. Private to "Joke": -. Private to "Joker": r.
"Joke" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Joker" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Joke" for "Joker" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Joke" or "Joker" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Joke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Joker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,603,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Joke" and "Joker" 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 #1,603,593 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.