PfadvsPfundTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,788
“Pfad” frequency rank
#5,016
“Pfund” frequency rank
14804
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pfad Pfund
Definition schmaler Weg, der nur von Fußgängern benutzt wird Maßeinheit der Masse für zirka beziehungsweise genau 500 Gramm

Where the eye mixes Pfad and Pfund

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Pfad runs 4 letters (CCVC) against Pfund's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Pfad
5 ch
Pfund

Visual trap between Pfad and Pfund

A purely visual mix-up. Pfad ([p͡faːt]) and Pfund ([p͡fʊnt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14804, 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]. Pfund is at rank #5,016, tagged as anoun, pronounced [p͡fʊnt].

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 14804, this pair ranks #1,948,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Pfad vs Pfund

Shared letters: dfp. Private to "Pfad": a. Private to "Pfund": nu.

"Pfad" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Pfund" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfad ← fpad · pafd · pfadd · pfda · pffad · ppfad
  • Pfund ← fpund · pffund · pfnud · pfudn · pfundd · pfunnd · ppfund · pufnd

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pfad" and "Pfund" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([p͡faːt] versus [p͡fʊnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Pfad" or "Pfund" show up more?
"Pfund" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,016 in our German list, against #9,788 for "Pfad". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Pfad" and "Pfund" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfund" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,948,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pfad" and "Pfund" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pau vs Pfad". 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 #1,948,618 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