PeinvsPelzWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#47,643
“Pein” frequency rank
#18,354
“Pelz” frequency rank
65997
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pein Pelz
Definition Schmerz, Qual behaartes Tierfell

Where the eye mixes Pein and Pelz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Pein (CVVC) and Pelz (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Pein
4 ch
Pelz

Look-alike desk: Pein vs Pelz

A purely visual mix-up. Pein ([paɪ̯n]) and Pelz ([pɛlt͡s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65997, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pein is recorded at frequency rank #47,643, classified as anoun, pronounced [paɪ̯n]. Pelz is at rank #18,354, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pɛlt͡s].

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 65997, this pair ranks #587,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pein vs Pelz

Shared letters: ep. Private to "Pein": in. Private to "Pelz": lz.

"Pein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Pelz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pein ← epin · peinn · peni · ppein
  • Pelz ← eplz · pellz · pelzz · pezl · plez · ppelz

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pein" and "Pelz" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paɪ̯n] versus [pɛlt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Pein" or "Pelz"?
"Pelz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,354 in our German list, against #47,643 for "Pein". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Pein" and "Pelz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pelz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #587,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pein" and "Pelz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pein vs pig". 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 #587,995 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