Which to use
“Pfeife” is a noun and “pfeifen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,650
- “Pfeife” frequency rank
- #11,305
- “pfeifen” frequency rank
- 25955
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pfeife | pfeifen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gerät zum Erzeugen von Tönen, bei dem Luft in der Regel über eine Kante geblasen wird | ein auffälliges Geräusch durch schnellen Luftzug durch eine kleine Öffnung natürlich (bei Menschen durch die angespitzten, geformten Lippen) oder künstlich erzeugen |
Where the eye mixes Pfeife and pfeifen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Pfeife runs 6 letters (CCVVCV) against pfeifen's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Pfeife and pfeifen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Pfeife is [ˈp͡faɪ̯fə] while pfeifen is [ˈp͡faɪ̯fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Pfeife” sits inside “pfeifen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25955, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pfeife is recorded at frequency rank #14,650, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡faɪ̯fə]. pfeifen is at rank #11,305, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈp͡faɪ̯fn̩].
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 25955, this pair ranks #1,825,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Pfeife vs pfeifen
Shared letters: efip. Private to "Pfeife": -. Private to "pfeifen": n.
"Pfeife" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "pfeifen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Pfeife" for "pfeifen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Pfeife" or "pfeifen" 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 "Pfeife" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pfeifen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,825,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pfeife" and "pfeifen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pfeifen vs Pfeilern". 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 #1,825,465 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.