PressevsPriseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,780
“Presse” frequency rank
#20,376
“Prise” frequency rank
22156
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Presse Prise
Definition Gerät, das zum Pressen dient Menge eines feinkörnigen Materials, die ein Mensch zwischen zwei (drei) Fingern aufnehmen kann

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Presse
5 ch
Prise

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Presse ([ˈpʁɛsə]) and Prise ([ˈpʁiːzə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Presse is recorded at frequency rank #1,780, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpʁɛsə]. Prise is at rank #20,376, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpʁiːzə].

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 22156, this pair ranks #1,877,612 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Presse vs Prise

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "Presse": -. Private to "Prise": i.

"Presse" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Prise" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pressepersse · ppresse · prese · preses · preße · prresse · prsese · rpesse
  • Prisepirse · pprise · prisse · prrise · prsie · rpise

Frequency comparison

Presse#1,780
Prise#20,376

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Presse" and "Prise" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpʁɛsə] versus [ˈpʁiːzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Presse" or "Prise"?
"Presse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,780 in our German list, against #20,376 for "Prise". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Presse vs Prise

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 “Presse” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list