PikevsPinkenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#32,209
“Pike” frequency rank
#44,133
“Pinken” frequency rank
76342
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pike Pinken
Definition eine Stangenwaffe von Fußsoldaten Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Pinke

Where the eye mixes Pike and Pinken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Pike runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Pinken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Pike
6 ch
Pinken

Visual trap between Pike and Pinken

A purely visual mix-up. Pike ([ˈpiːkə]) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76342, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pike is recorded at frequency rank #32,209, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpiːkə]. 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 76342, this pair ranks #286,149 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Pike vs Pinken

Shared letters: eikp. Private to "Pike": -. Private to "Pinken": n.

"Pike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Pinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pikeipke · piek · pikke · pkie · ppike
  • Pinkenipnken · piknen · pinekn · pinkenn · pinkken · pinkne · pinnken · pniken

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Pike" for "Pinken" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpiːkə] versus [ˈpɪŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Pike" vs "Pinken" - which ranks higher?
"Pike" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,209 in our German list, against #44,133 for "Pinken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Pike" 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 #286,149 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pike" 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 #286,149 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