Which to use
“pays” is a noun and “pes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,381
- “pays” frequency rank
- #43,402
- “pes” frequency rank
- 84783
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pays | pes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs pay | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pesen |
Where the eye mixes pays and pes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. pays runs 4 letters (CVVC) against pes's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pays and pes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pays is [peɪz] while pes is [peːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84783, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pays is recorded at frequency rank #41,381, classified as anoun, pronounced [peɪz]. 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 84783, this pair ranks #118,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pays vs pes
Shared letters: ps. Private to "pays": ay. Private to "pes": e.
"pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pays ← apys · pasy · payss · payys · ppays · pyas
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pays" and "pes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "pays" or "pes" show up more?
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 "pays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pays" and "pes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pes 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 #118,313 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.