PilsvsPLZWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Pils is a noun, PLZ is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Pils” is a noun and “PLZ” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,448
“Pils” frequency rank
#15,721
“PLZ” frequency rank
43169
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pils PLZ
Definition kurz für „Bier nach Pilsener Brauart“, ein untergäriges Bier mit erhöhtem Hopfengehalt Postleitzahl

Letter map: Pils vs PLZ

Shared letters muted; letters that set Pils and PLZ apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
Pils
3 ch
PLZ

Grammar separator: Pils vs PLZ

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Pils is anoun and PLZanabbrev. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43169, 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]. PLZ is at rank #15,721, tagged as anabbrev.

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 43169, this pair ranks #1,426,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pils vs PLZ

Shared letters: lp. Private to "Pils": is. Private to "PLZ": z.

"Pils" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "PLZ" · 3 letters · shape CCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pilsipls · pills · pilss · pisl · plis · ppils

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pils" and "PLZ" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Pils" is a noun and "PLZ" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Pils" or "PLZ" show up more?
"PLZ" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,721 in our German list, against #27,448 for "Pils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Pils" and "PLZ".

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pils" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "PLZ" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,426,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pils" and "PLZ" 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 #1,426,506 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