PilzvsPolWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,962
“Pilz” frequency rank
#5,751
“Pol” frequency rank
15713
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pilz Pol
Definition aus schlauchförmigen Fäden bestehender Organismus ohne Blattgrün (Reich Fungi); hat sowohl tierische als auch pflanzliche Eigenschaften einer der beiden Endpunkte der Erdachse; auch bei anderen Himmelskörpern, die sich um die eigene Achse drehen; oder auch von der Erde (ggf. auch von einem anderen Himmelskörper) aus gesehen, der nördliche/südliche Himmelspol

Where the eye mixes Pilz and Pol

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Pilz
3 ch
Pol

Visual trap between Pilz and Pol

A purely visual mix-up. Pilz ([pɪlt͡s]) and Pol ([poːl]) 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 15713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pilz is recorded at frequency rank #9,962, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɪlt͡s]. Pol is at rank #5,751, tagged as anoun, pronounced [poːl].

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 15713, this pair ranks #1,941,742 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Pilz vs Pol

Shared letters: lp. Private to "Pilz": iz. Private to "Pol": o.

"Pilz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Pol" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pilziplz · pillz · pilzz · pizl · pliz · ppilz

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Pilz" and "Pol" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɪlt͡s] versus [poːl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Pilz" vs "Pol" - which ranks higher?
"Pol" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,751 in our German list, against #9,962 for "Pilz". 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 "Pilz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pol" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,941,742 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pilz" and "Pol" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pig vs Pilz". 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 #1,941,742 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