PeinevsPreiseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Peine is a name, Preise is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Peine” is a name and “Preise” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,462
“Peine” frequency rank
#1,488
“Preise” frequency rank
23950
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Peine Preise
Definition eine Stadt in Niedersachsen, Deutschland Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Preis

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Peine and Preise apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Peine
6 ch
Preise

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Peine is [ˈpaɪ̯nə] while Preise is [ˈpʁaɪ̯zə]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23950, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Peine is recorded at frequency rank #22,462, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈpaɪ̯nə]. Preise is at rank #1,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpʁaɪ̯zə].

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 23950, this pair ranks #1,854,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Peine vs Preise

Shared letters: eip. Private to "Peine": n. Private to "Preise": rs.

"Peine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Preise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Peineepine · peien · peinne · penie · piene · ppeine
  • Preiseperise · ppreise · preies · preisse · presie · priese · prreise · rpeise

Frequency comparison

Peine#22,462
Preise#1,488

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Peine" and "Preise" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Peine" is a name and "Preise" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Peine" or "Preise"?
"Preise" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,488 in our German list, against #22,462 for "Peine". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Peine vs Preise

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Peine”; for a noun, it's “Preise”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Peine” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list