pock / pockmark
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pock
A single pus-filled skin pustule, as typically occurs with the disease smallpox (variola) or similar infections.
Nach der Infektion bildete sich die erste Pocke auf seinem Arm.
After the infection, the first pock formed on his arm.
pockmark
The scar left behind by a pock after it has healed, also called a pockmark.
Sein Gesicht war von den Pocken aus seiner Kindheit gezeichnet.
His face was marked by the pockmarks from his childhood.
Pay attention to the difference between singular and plural. The plural 'die Pocken' almost always refers to the disease itself (smallpox). The singular 'die Pocke' means a single skin pustule or the scar that results from it.
Früher starben viele Menschen an den Pocken.
In the past, many people died of smallpox.
Because the disease smallpox is considered eradicated worldwide, the word is mostly used today in a historical or medical context. You rarely hear it in everyday life.
Die Impfung gegen die Pocken war ein riesiger medizinischer Erfolg.
The vaccination against smallpox was a huge medical success.
When 'Pocke' (pockmark) means a scar, the phrase 'von Pocken gezeichnet sein' (to be marked by pockmarks) is often used to describe a face with many pockmarks.
Der alte Mann hatte ein Gesicht, das von den Pocken seiner Jugend gezeichnet war.
The old man had a face that was marked by the pockmarks of his youth.
scar / stigma
Narbe is the general term for a visible mark left after an injury or other wound. In this context, Pocke can refer more specifically to the scar left by a healed case of smallpox. Use Narbe in general, and Pocke only when the earlier smallpox infection is important.
Viele Menschen trugen noch eine Pocke im Gesicht, nachdem die Krankheit abgeheilt war.
Many people still had pockmarks on their faces after the disease had healed.
Nach der Operation blieb eine kleine Narbe an seinem Arm zurück.
A small scar was left on his arm after the operation.
