Which to use
“Sake” and “scale” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,710
- “Sake” frequency rank
- #31,769
- “scale” frequency rank
- 79479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sake | scale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | japanisches alkoholisches Getränk, das aus mit Hefe vergorenem Reis hergestellt wird und heiß getrunken wird | Waage |
Where the eye mixes Sake and scale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Sake runs 4 letters (CVCV) against scale's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Sake with scale
A purely visual mix-up. Sake ([ˈzaːkə]) and scale ([skeɪl]) 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 79479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sake is recorded at frequency rank #47,710, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzaːkə]. scale is at rank #31,769, tagged as anoun, pronounced [skeɪl].
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 79479, this pair ranks #215,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Sake vs scale
Shared letters: aes. Private to "Sake": k. Private to "scale": cl.
"Sake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "scale" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Sake" and "scale" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Sake" vs "scale" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Sake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #215,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sake" and "scale" 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
Confusion rank #215,660 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.