packevsPickelWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: packe is a verb, Pickel is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“packe” is a verb and “Pickel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,090
“packe” frequency rank
#20,697
“Pickel” frequency rank
42787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature packe Pickel
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs packen eitrig entzündete Erhebung der Haut

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set packe and Pickel apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
packe
6 ch
Pickel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: packe is [ˈpakə] while Pickel is [ˈpɪkl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

packe is recorded at frequency rank #22,090, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpakə]. Pickel is at rank #20,697, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɪkl̩].

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 42787, this pair ranks #1,438,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of packe vs Pickel

Shared letters: cekp. Private to "packe": a. Private to "Pickel": il.

"packe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Pickel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • packeapcke · paccke · pacek · packke · pakce · pcake · ppacke
  • Pickelipckel · pcikel · picckel · picekl · pickell · pickkel · pickle · pikcel

Frequency comparison

packe#22,090
Pickel#20,697

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "packe" and "Pickel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "packe" is a verb and "Pickel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "packe" or "Pickel"?
"Pickel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,697 in our German list, against #22,090 for "packe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering packe vs Pickel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “packe”; for a noun, it's “Pickel”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “packe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list