peuvsPikWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“peu” and “Pik” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#40,134
“peu” frequency rank
#42,047
“Pik” frequency rank
82181
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature peu Pik
Definition der Fuß; der unterste Abschnitt der Beine der Wirbeltiere, bei den Primaten und dem Menschen nur der beiden hinteren/unteren Extremitäten Farbe im französischen Kartenblatt mit einem schwarzen Lindenblatt als Symbol

Where the eye mixes peu and Pik

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. peu (CVV) and Pik (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
peu
3 ch
Pik

Visual trap between peu and Pik

A purely visual mix-up. peu ([pɛw]) and Pik ([piːk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peu is recorded at frequency rank #40,134, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɛw]. Pik is at rank #42,047, tagged as anoun, pronounced [piːk].

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 82181, this pair ranks #161,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of peu vs Pik

Shared letters: p. Private to "peu": eu. Private to "Pik": ik.

"peu" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Pik" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "peu" for "Pik" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pɛw] versus [piːk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "peu" vs "Pik" - which ranks higher?
"peu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,134 in our German list, against #42,047 for "Pik". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "peu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pik" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #161,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "peu" and "Pik" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pik vs PMS". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #161,886 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list