pes vs pons, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#43,402
“pes” frequency rank: #44,143
“pons” frequency rank: 87545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pes	pons
Definition	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pesen	Brücke, Steg über einen Fluss, Morast oder Ähnliches

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

pes

4 ch

pons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: pes is averb and ponsanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87545, 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]. pons is at rank #44,143, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 87545, this pair ranks #79,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pes vs pons

Shared letters: ps. Private to "pes": e. Private to "pons": no.

"pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

pons ← opns · pnos · ponns · ponss · posn · ppons

Frequency comparison

pes#43,402

pons#44,143

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pes" and "pons" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pes" is a verb and "pons" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "pes" or "pons"?

"pes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,402 in our German list, against #44,143 for "pons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pes vs pons

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 “pons”.
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