Which to use
“Pauls” and “pays” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,260
- “Pauls” frequency rank
- #41,381
- “pays” frequency rank
- 66641
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pauls | pays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Paul | Plural des Substantivs pay |
Where the eye mixes Pauls and pays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Pauls runs 5 letters (CVVCC) 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 Pauls with pays
A purely visual mix-up. Pauls ([paʊ̯ls]) 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 66641, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pauls is recorded at frequency rank #25,260, classified as anoun, pronounced [paʊ̯ls]. 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 66641, this pair ranks #566,433 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Pauls vs pays
Shared letters: aps. Private to "Pauls": lu. Private to "pays": y.
"Pauls" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Pauls" and "pays" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Pauls" or "pays"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Pauls" 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 #566,433 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pauls" 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 #566,433 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.