PaketvsPikeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Paket” and “Pike” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,334
“Paket” frequency rank
#32,209
“Pike” frequency rank
35543
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Paket Pike
Definition Verpackung eines oder mehrerer Gegenstände zum Schutz, zu Zwecken der Bündelung, der Steigerung des Überraschungseffekts, des Scherzeffektes eine Stangenwaffe von Fußsoldaten

Where the eye mixes Paket and Pike

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Paket runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Pike's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Paket
4 ch
Pike

Why the eye confuses Paket with Pike

A purely visual mix-up. Paket ([paˈkeːt]) and Pike ([ˈpiːkə]) 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 35543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Paket is recorded at frequency rank #3,334, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈkeːt]. Pike is at rank #32,209, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpiːkə].

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 35543, this pair ranks #1,637,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Paket vs Pike

Shared letters: ekp. Private to "Paket": at. Private to "Pike": i.

"Paket" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Pike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Paket ← apket · paekt · pakett · pakket · pakte · pkaet · ppaket
  • Pike ← ipke · piek · pikke · pkie · ppike

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Paket" and "Pike" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paˈkeːt] versus [ˈpiːkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Paket" or "Pike"?
"Paket" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,334 in our German list, against #32,209 for "Pike". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Paket" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pike" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,637,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Paket" and "Pike" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pig vs Pike". 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 #1,637,467 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list