Which to use
“Pickel” and “Pinken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,697
- “Pickel” frequency rank
- #44,133
- “Pinken” frequency rank
- 64830
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pickel | Pinken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eitrig entzündete Erhebung der Haut | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Pinke |
Where the eye mixes Pickel and Pinken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Pickel and Pinken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Pickel vs Pinken
A purely visual mix-up. Pickel ([ˈpɪkl̩]) and Pinken ([ˈpɪŋkn̩]) 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 64830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pickel is recorded at frequency rank #20,697, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɪkl̩]. Pinken is at rank #44,133, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɪŋkn̩].
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 64830, this pair ranks #627,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Pickel vs Pinken
Shared letters: eikp. Private to "Pickel": cl. Private to "Pinken": n.
"Pickel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Pinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Pickel" and "Pinken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Pickel" or "Pinken" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Pickel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Pinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #627,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pickel" and "Pinken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pinken vs Planken". 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 #627,786 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.