pissvspissenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,133
“piss” frequency rank
#16,514
“pissen” frequency rank
53647
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature piss pissen
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pissen die Blase entleeren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set piss and pissen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
piss
6 ch
pissen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. piss ([pɪs]) and pissen ([ˈpɪsn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “piss” sits inside “pissen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53647, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

piss is recorded at frequency rank #37,133, classified as averb, pronounced [pɪs]. pissen is at rank #16,514, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpɪsn̩].

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 53647, this pair ranks #1,049,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of piss vs pissen

Shared letters: ips. Private to "piss": -. Private to "pissen": en.

"piss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "pissen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pissipss · piß · ppiss · psis
  • pissenipssen · pisen · pisesn · pissenn · pissne · pißen · ppissen · psisen

Frequency comparison

piss#37,133
pissen#16,514

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "piss" and "pissen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɪs] versus [ˈpɪsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "piss" or "pissen"?
"pissen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,514 in our German list, against #37,133 for "piss". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering piss vs pissen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “piss” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list