SakevsSkiConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#47,710
“Sake” frequency rank
#5,880
“Ski” frequency rank
53590
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sake Ski
Definition japanisches alkoholisches Getränk, das aus mit Hefe vergorenem Reis hergestellt wird und heiß getrunken wird Gleitgerät zur Fortbewegung im Schnee oder Wasser

Where the eye mixes Sake and Ski

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Sake
3 ch
Ski

Visual trap between Sake and Ski

A purely visual mix-up. Sake ([ˈzaːkə]) and Ski ([ʃiː]) 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 53590, 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]. Ski is at rank #5,880, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃiː].

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 53590, this pair ranks #1,052,046 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sake vs Ski

Shared letters: ks. Private to "Sake": ae. Private to "Ski": i.

"Sake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Ski" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sakeaske · saek · sakke · skae · ssake

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Sake" and "Ski" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzaːkə] versus [ʃiː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Sake" vs "Ski" - which ranks higher?
"Ski" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,880 in our German list, against #47,710 for "Sake". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "Ski" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,052,046 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sake" and "Ski" 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 #1,052,046 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list