Which to use
“Packs” and “pays” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,297
- “Packs” frequency rank
- #41,381
- “pays” frequency rank
- 75678
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Packs | pays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Pack | Plural des Substantivs pay |
Where the eye mixes Packs and pays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Packs runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against pays's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Packs with pays
A purely visual mix-up. Packs ([paks]) and pays ([peɪz]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75678, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Packs is recorded at frequency rank #34,297, classified as anoun, pronounced [paks]. pays is at rank #41,381, tagged as anoun, pronounced [peɪz].
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 75678, this pair ranks #302,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Packs vs pays
Shared letters: aps. Private to "Packs": ck. Private to "pays": y.
"Packs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Packs" for "pays" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Packs" or "pays"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Packs" and "pays" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Packs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #302,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Packs" and "pays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pays vs PMS". 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 #302,043 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.