Which to use
“Pils” is a noun and “pisst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,448
- “Pils” frequency rank
- #26,999
- “pisst” frequency rank
- 54447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pils | pisst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kurz für „Bier nach Pilsener Brauart“, ein untergäriges Bier mit erhöhtem Hopfengehalt | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pissen |
Where the eye mixes Pils and pisst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Pils runs 4 letters (CVCC) against pisst's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Pils with pisst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Pils is [pɪls] while pisst is [pɪst]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pils is recorded at frequency rank #27,448, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɪls]. pisst is at rank #26,999, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɪst].
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 54447, this pair ranks #1,018,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Pils vs pisst
Shared letters: ips. Private to "Pils": l. Private to "pisst": t.
"Pils" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pisst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Pils" for "pisst" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Pils" or "pisst" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Pils" and "pisst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Pils" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pisst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,018,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pils" and "pisst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pils 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 #1,018,521 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.