SackvsSakeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,301
“Sack” frequency rank
#47,710
“Sake” frequency rank
52011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sack Sake
Definition Transport- und Aufbewahrungsbehältnis aus grobem Stoff^([1], [2]) oder anderem robustem Material japanisches alkoholisches Getränk, das aus mit Hefe vergorenem Reis hergestellt wird und heiß getrunken wird

Where the eye mixes Sack and Sake

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Sack
4 ch
Sake

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Sack ([zak]) and Sake ([ˈzaːkə]) 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 52011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sack is recorded at frequency rank #4,301, classified as anoun, pronounced [zak]. Sake is at rank #47,710, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzaːkə].

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 52011, this pair ranks #1,113,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sack vs Sake

Shared letters: aks. Private to "Sack": c. Private to "Sake": e.

"Sack" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Sake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sackasck · sacck · sackk · sakc · scak · ssack
  • Sakeaske · saek · sakke · skae · ssake

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Sack" and "Sake" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([zak] versus [ˈzaːkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Sack" or "Sake"?
"Sack" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,301 in our German list, against #47,710 for "Sake". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "Sack" and "Sake". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Sack" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sake" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,113,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sack" and "Sake" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sake vs Sire". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list