PfadvspfuiTell them apart

Quick tell: Pfad is a noun, pfui is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Pfad” is a noun and “pfui” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,788
“Pfad” frequency rank
#20,367
“pfui” frequency rank
30155
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pfad pfui
Definition schmaler Weg, der nur von Fußgängern benutzt wird Ausruf des Ekels, der Abscheu, der Verachtung, der Empörung, der Missbilligung, des Missfallens und des Hohns

Where the eye mixes Pfad and pfui

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Pfad
4 ch
pfui

Visual trap between Pfad and pfui

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Pfad is [p͡faːt] while pfui is [p͡fʊɪ̯]. 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 (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30155, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pfad is recorded at frequency rank #9,788, classified as anoun, pronounced [p͡faːt]. pfui is at rank #20,367, tagged as anintj, pronounced [p͡fʊɪ̯].

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 30155, this pair ranks #1,753,360 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Pfad vs pfui

Shared letters: fp. Private to "Pfad": ad. Private to "pfui": iu.

"Pfad" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "pfui" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfadfpad · pafd · pfadd · pfda · pffad · ppfad
  • pfuifpui · pffui · pfiu · ppfui · pufi

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Pfad" for "pfui" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Pfad" is a noun and "pfui" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Pfad" or "pfui" show up more?
"Pfad" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,788 in our German list, against #20,367 for "pfui". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pfui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,753,360 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pfad" and "pfui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pau vs pfui". 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 #1,753,360 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