Which to use
“pes” is a verb and “pures” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,402
- “pes” frequency rank
- #30,727
- “pures” frequency rank
- 74129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pes | pures |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pesen | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pur |
Where the eye mixes pes and pures
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pes runs 3 letters (CVC) against pures's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pes vs pures
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pes is [peːs] while pures is [puːʁəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74129, 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]. pures is at rank #30,727, tagged as anadj, pronounced [puːʁəs].
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 74129, this pair ranks #341,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pes vs pures
Shared letters: eps. Private to "pes": -. Private to "pures": ru.
"pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pures" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pures ← ppures · prues · puers · puress · purres · purse · upres
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pes" and "pures" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "pes" or "pures" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pures" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #341,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pes" and "pures" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pes vs PMS". 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 #341,667 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.