PikevsPixelConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#32,209
“Pike” frequency rank
#13,911
“Pixel” frequency rank
46120
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pike Pixel
Definition eine Stangenwaffe von Fußsoldaten kleinstes Bildelement einer digitalen Rastergrafik

Where the eye mixes Pike and Pixel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Pike
5 ch
Pixel

Why the eye confuses Pike with Pixel

A purely visual mix-up. Pike ([ˈpiːkə]) and Pixel ([ˈpɪksl̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46120, 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]. Pixel is at rank #13,911, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɪksl̩].

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 46120, this pair ranks #1,329,933 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pike vs Pixel

Shared letters: eip. Private to "Pike": k. Private to "Pixel": lx.

"Pike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Pixel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pikeipke · piek · pikke · pkie · ppike
  • Pixelipxel · piexl · pixell · pixle · pixxel · ppixel · pxiel

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Pike" and "Pixel" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpiːkə] versus [ˈpɪksl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Pike" or "Pixel" show up more?
"Pixel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,911 in our German list, against #32,209 for "Pike". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Pike" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pixel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,329,933 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pike" and "Pixel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pig vs Pike". 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 #1,329,933 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