Which to use
“press” and “pries” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,925
- “press” frequency rank
- #44,147
- “pries” frequency rank
- 53072
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | press | pries |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pressen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs preisen |
Where the eye mixes press and pries
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses press with pries
A purely visual mix-up. press ([pʁɛs]) and pries ([pʁiːs]) 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 53072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
press is recorded at frequency rank #8,925, classified as averb, pronounced [pʁɛs]. pries is at rank #44,147, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁiːs].
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 53072, this pair ranks #1,072,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of press vs pries
Shared letters: eprs. Private to "press": -. Private to "pries": i.
"press" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "pries" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "press" for "pries" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "press" or "pries" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "press" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pries" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,072,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "press" and "pries" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pries vs pros". 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 #1,072,146 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.