picvspigWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,730
“pic” frequency rank
#48,384
“pig” frequency rank
70114
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pic pig
Definition Specht Schwein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pic and pig apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
pic
3 ch
pig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pic ([pik]) and pig ([pɪɡ]) 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 a single letter - c in “pic” becomes g in “pig”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70114, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pic is recorded at frequency rank #21,730, classified as anoun, pronounced [pik]. pig is at rank #48,384, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pɪɡ].

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 70114, this pair ranks #456,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pic vs pig

Shared letters: ip. Private to "pic": c. Private to "pig": g.

"pic" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "pig" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

pic#21,730
pig#48,384

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pic" and "pig" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pik] versus [pɪɡ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pic" or "pig"?
"pic" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,730 in our German list, against #48,384 for "pig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pic vs pig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pic” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list