PapierevsPapiersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,097
“Papiere” frequency rank
#37,723
“Papiers” frequency rank
43820
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Papiere Papiers
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Papier Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Papier

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Papiere and Papiers apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Papiere
7 ch
Papiers

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Papiere ([paˈpiːʁə]) and Papiers ([paˈpiːɐ̯s]) 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 a single letter - e in “Papiere” becomes s in “Papiers”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Papiere is recorded at frequency rank #6,097, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈpiːʁə]. Papiers is at rank #37,723, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈpiːɐ̯s].

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 43820, this pair ranks #1,405,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Papiere vs Papiers

Shared letters: aeipr. Private to "Papiere": -. Private to "Papiers": s.

"Papiere" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "Papiers" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Papiereappiere · paipere · papeire · papieer · papierre · papiree · pappiere · ppaiere
  • Papiersappiers · paipers · papeirs · papierrs · papierss · papiesr · papires · pappiers

Frequency comparison

Papiere#6,097
Papiers#37,723

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Papiere" and "Papiers" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paˈpiːʁə] versus [paˈpiːɐ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Papiere" or "Papiers"?
"Papiere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,097 in our German list, against #37,723 for "Papiers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Papiere vs Papiers

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Papiere” 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