PikvsPikeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#42,047
“Pik” frequency rank
#32,209
“Pike” frequency rank
74256
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pik Pike
Definition Farbe im französischen Kartenblatt mit einem schwarzen Lindenblatt als Symbol eine Stangenwaffe von Fußsoldaten

Where the eye mixes Pik and Pike

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Pik runs 3 letters (CVC) against Pike's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
Pik
4 ch
Pike

Why the eye confuses Pik with Pike

A purely visual mix-up. Pik ([piːk]) and Pike ([ˈpiːkə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Pik” sits inside “Pike”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pik is recorded at frequency rank #42,047, classified as anoun, pronounced [piːk]. Pike is at rank #32,209, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpiːkə].

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 74256, this pair ranks #338,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Pik vs Pike

Shared letters: ikp. Private to "Pik": -. Private to "Pike": e.

"Pik" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Pike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pike ← ipke · piek · pikke · pkie · ppike

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Pik" for "Pike" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([piːk] versus [ˈpiːkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Pik" vs "Pike" - which ranks higher?
"Pike" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,209 in our German list, against #42,047 for "Pik". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pik" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pike" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #338,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pik" and "Pike" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pik vs PMS". 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 #338,264 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