PilzevsPinkeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,151
“Pilze” frequency rank
#44,131
“Pinke” frequency rank
54282
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pilze Pinke
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Pilz Segelschiff im Küstenmeer der Nord- und Ostsee

Where the eye mixes Pilze and Pinke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Pilze and Pinke follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
Pilze
5 ch
Pinke

Look-alike desk: Pilze vs Pinke

A purely visual mix-up. Pilze ([ˈpɪlt͡sə]) and Pinke ([ˈpɪŋkə]) 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 54282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pilze is recorded at frequency rank #10,151, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɪlt͡sə]. Pinke is at rank #44,131, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɪŋkə].

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 54282, this pair ranks #1,024,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pilze vs Pinke

Shared letters: eip. Private to "Pilze": lz. Private to "Pinke": kn.

"Pilze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Pinke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pilze ← iplze · pilez · pillze · pilzze · pizle · plize · ppilze
  • Pinke ← ipnke · pikne · pinek · pinkke · pinnke · pnike · ppinke

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pilze" and "Pinke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpɪlt͡sə] versus [ˈpɪŋkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Pilze" vs "Pinke" - which ranks higher?
"Pilze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,151 in our German list, against #44,131 for "Pinke". 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 "Pilze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pinke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,024,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pilze" and "Pinke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "picken vs Pinke". 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 #1,024,875 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