PINvsPLZTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#11,945
“PIN” frequency rank
#15,721
“PLZ” frequency rank
27666
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature PIN PLZ
Definition Abkürzung für engl. „personal identification number“ (später übersetzt als „Persönliche Identifikationsnummer“) Postleitzahl

Letter map: PIN vs PLZ

Shared letters muted; letters that set PIN and PLZ apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
PIN
3 ch
PLZ

Role in the sentence - PIN and PLZ

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: PIN is anoun and PLZanabbrev. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

PIN is recorded at frequency rank #11,945, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɪn]. 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 27666, this pair ranks #1,797,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of PIN vs PLZ

Shared letters: p. Private to "PIN": in. Private to "PLZ": lz.

"PIN" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "PLZ" · 3 letters · shape CCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "PIN" and "PLZ" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "PIN" is a noun and "PLZ" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "PIN" vs "PLZ" - which ranks higher?
"PIN" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,945 in our German list, against #15,721 for "PLZ". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "PIN" vs "PLZ" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "PIN" 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 #1,797,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "PIN" and "PLZ" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PLZ vs PMS". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,797,990 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