PilzvspollConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#9,962
“Pilz” frequency rank
#38,341
“poll” frequency rank
48303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pilz poll
Definition aus schlauchförmigen Fäden bestehender Organismus ohne Blattgrün (Reich Fungi); hat sowohl tierische als auch pflanzliche Eigenschaften die Laus

Where the eye mixes Pilz and poll

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

4 ch
Pilz
4 ch
poll

Why the eye confuses Pilz with poll

A purely visual mix-up. Pilz ([pɪlt͡s]) and poll ([poʎ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48303, 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]. poll is at rank #38,341, tagged as anoun, pronounced [poʎ].

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 48303, this pair ranks #1,253,522 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pilz vs poll

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

"Pilz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "poll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pilziplz · pillz · pilzz · pizl · pliz · ppilz
  • pollopll · plol · ppoll

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pilz" and "poll" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɪlt͡s] versus [poʎ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Pilz" vs "poll" - which ranks higher?
"Pilz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,962 in our German list, against #38,341 for "poll". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pilz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "poll" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,253,522 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pilz" and "poll" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PoC vs poll". 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 #1,253,522 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