Which to use
“Pilsen” is a name and “Pilze” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,307
- “Pilsen” frequency rank
- #10,151
- “Pilze” frequency rank
- 44458
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pilsen | Pilze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | deutsche Bezeichnung der Stadt Plzeň in Tschechien | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Pilz |
Where the eye mixes Pilsen and Pilze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Pilsen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Pilze's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Pilsen and Pilze
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Pilsen is [ˈpɪlzn̩] while Pilze is [ˈpɪlt͡sə]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44458, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pilsen is recorded at frequency rank #34,307, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈpɪlzn̩]. Pilze is at rank #10,151, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɪlt͡sə].
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 44458, this pair ranks #1,385,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Pilsen vs Pilze
Shared letters: eilp. Private to "Pilsen": ns. Private to "Pilze": z.
"Pilsen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Pilze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Pilsen" for "Pilze" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Pilsen" or "Pilze"?
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 "Pilsen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Pilze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,385,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pilsen" and "Pilze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "picken vs Pilsen". 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 #1,385,555 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.