piquevspsiqueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pique” and “psique” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,105
“pique” frequency rank
#29,481
“psique” frequency rank
46586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pique psique
Definition lança de aproximadamente 3 metros, com uma ponta de metal manifestação da atividade mental ou psíquica em cada um dos seus variados aspectos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pique and psique apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pique
6 ch
psique

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pique (/ˈpi.kɨ/) and psique (/ˈpsi.kɨ/) 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 46586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pique is recorded at frequency rank #17,105, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpi.kɨ/. psique is at rank #29,481, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpsi.kɨ/.

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 46586, this pair ranks #18,709 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pique vs psique

Shared letters: eipqu. Private to "pique": -. Private to "psique": s.

"pique" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "psique" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • piqueipque · piqeu · piqque · piuqe · ppique · pqiue
  • psiquepisque · ppsique · psiqeu · psiqque · psiuqe · psqiue · pssique · spique

Frequency comparison

pique#17,105
psique#29,481

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pique" and "psique" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpi.kɨ/ versus /ˈpsi.kɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pique" or "psique"?
"pique" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,105 in our Portuguese list, against #29,481 for "psique". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pique vs psique

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 “pique” 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