pesvspoetWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pes is a verb, poet is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pes” is a verb and “poet” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,402
“pes” frequency rank
#23,266
“poet” frequency rank
66668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pes poet
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pesen der Poet, der Dichter

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pes and poet apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
pes
4 ch
poet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pes is [peːs] while poet is [ˈpəʊɪt]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pes is recorded at frequency rank #43,402, classified as averb, pronounced [peːs]. poet is at rank #23,266, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpəʊɪt].

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 66668, this pair ranks #565,562 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pes vs poet

Shared letters: ep. Private to "pes": s. Private to "poet": ot.

"pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "poet" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poetopet · peot · poett · pote · ppoet

Frequency comparison

pes#43,402
poet#23,266

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pes" and "poet" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pes" is a verb and "poet" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pes" or "poet"?
"poet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,266 in our German list, against #43,402 for "pes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pes vs poet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “pes”; for a noun, it's “poet”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pes” 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