Which to use
“pick” is a verb and “pitch” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,895
- “pick” frequency rank
- #29,282
- “pitch” frequency rank
- 44177
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pick | pitch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs picken | Pitch |
Where the eye mixes pick and pitch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pick with pitch
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pick is [pɪk] while pitch is [pitʃ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44177, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pick is recorded at frequency rank #14,895, classified as averb, pronounced [pɪk]. pitch is at rank #29,282, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pitʃ].
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 44177, this pair ranks #1,394,514 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pick vs pitch
Shared letters: cip. Private to "pick": k. Private to "pitch": ht.
"pick" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pitch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pick" and "pitch" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "pick" or "pitch" show up more?
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 "pick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pitch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,394,514 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pick" and "pitch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peach vs pitch". 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 #1,394,514 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.