Which to use
“sick” and “spuk” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,489
- “sick” frequency rank
- #27,498
- “spuk” frequency rank
- 54987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sick | spuk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sicken | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spuken |
Where the eye mixes sick and spuk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sick and spuk
A purely visual mix-up. sick ([zɪk]) and spuk ([ʃpuːk]) 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 54987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sick is recorded at frequency rank #27,489, classified as averb, pronounced [zɪk]. spuk is at rank #27,498, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpuːk].
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 54987, this pair ranks #997,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sick vs spuk
Shared letters: ks. Private to "sick": ci. Private to "spuk": pu.
"sick" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "spuk" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sick" and "spuk" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "sick" or "spuk" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spuk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #997,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sick" and "spuk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sick 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 #997,131 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.