PfeilevsPreiseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,095
“Pfeile” frequency rank
#1,488
“Preise” frequency rank
18583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pfeile Preise
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Pfeil Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Preis

Where the eye mixes Pfeile and Preise

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Pfeile and Preise follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Pfeile
6 ch
Preise

Why the eye confuses Pfeile with Preise

A purely visual mix-up. Pfeile ([ˈp͡faɪ̯lə]) and Preise ([ˈpʁaɪ̯zə]) 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 18583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pfeile is recorded at frequency rank #17,095, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡faɪ̯lə]. Preise is at rank #1,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpʁaɪ̯zə].

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 18583, this pair ranks #1,916,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Pfeile vs Preise

Shared letters: eip. Private to "Pfeile": fl. Private to "Preise": rs.

"Pfeile" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "Preise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfeile ← fpeile · pefile · pfeiel · pfeille · pfelie · pffeile · pfiele · ppfeile
  • Preise ← perise · ppreise · preies · preisse · presie · priese · prreise · rpeise

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Pfeile" and "Preise" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈp͡faɪ̯lə] versus [ˈpʁaɪ̯zə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Pfeile" or "Preise"?
"Preise" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,488 in our German list, against #17,095 for "Pfeile". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Pfeile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Preise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,916,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pfeile" and "Preise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pfeile 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 #1,916,877 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