pak vs pes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“pak” is an adverb and “pes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,218
“pak” frequency rank: #43,402
“pes” frequency rank: 76620
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pak	pes
Definition	dann, daraufhin	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pesen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pak and pes apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

pak

3 ch

pes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pak is [pak] while pes is [peːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pak is recorded at frequency rank #33,218, classified as anadv, pronounced [pak]. pes is at rank #43,402, tagged as averb, pronounced [peːs].

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 76620, this pair ranks #279,637 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pak vs pes

Shared letters: p. Private to "pak": ak. Private to "pes": es.

"pak" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

pak#33,218

pes#43,402

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pak" and "pes" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pak" is an adverb and "pes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "pak" or "pes"?

"pak" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,218 in our German list, against #43,402 for "pes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pak vs pes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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