paysvsPisWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,381
“pays” frequency rank
#38,949
“Pis” frequency rank
80330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pays Pis
Definition Plural des Substantivs pay Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Pi

Where the eye mixes pays and Pis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. pays runs 4 letters (CVVC) against Pis's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
pays
3 ch
Pis

Visual trap between pays and Pis

A purely visual mix-up. pays ([peɪz]) and Pis ([piːs]) 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 80330, 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]. Pis is at rank #38,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced [piːs].

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 80330, this pair ranks #197,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pays vs Pis

Shared letters: ps. Private to "pays": ay. Private to "Pis": i.

"pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Pis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pays ← apys · pasy · payss · payys · ppays · pyas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pays" and "Pis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([peɪz] versus [piːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pays" or "Pis"?
"Pis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,949 in our German list, against #41,381 for "pays". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #197,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pays" and "Pis" 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 #197,850 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