Which to use
“perfide” is an adjective and “Periode” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,952
- “perfide” frequency rank
- #8,608
- “Periode” frequency rank
- 44560
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | perfide | Periode |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Niedertracht und in hinterhältiger Weise | Zeitabschnitt, der durch gemeinsame Merkmale geprägt ist |
Where the eye mixes perfide and Periode
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses perfide with Periode
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: perfide is [pɛʁˈfiːdə] while Periode is [peˈʁi̯oːdə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
perfide is recorded at frequency rank #35,952, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɛʁˈfiːdə]. Periode is at rank #8,608, tagged as anoun, pronounced [peˈʁi̯oːdə].
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 44560, this pair ranks #1,382,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of perfide vs Periode
Shared letters: deipr. Private to "perfide": f. Private to "Periode": o.
"perfide" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "Periode" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "perfide" for "Periode" ever safe?
Which is more common, "perfide" or "Periode"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "perfide" and "Periode" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "perfide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Periode" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,382,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "perfide" and "Periode" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "perfide vs pride". 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 #1,382,243 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.