GattevsGlatzeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#22,344
“Gatte” frequency rank
#18,569
“Glatze” frequency rank
40913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gatte Glatze
Definition der Ehemann haarlose Stelle des normalerweise behaarten Teils des Kopfes

Where the eye mixes Gatte and Glatze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Gatte runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Glatze's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Gatte
6 ch
Glatze

Visual trap between Gatte and Glatze

A purely visual mix-up. Gatte ([ˈɡatə]) and Glatze ([ˈɡlat͡sə]) 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 40913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gatte is recorded at frequency rank #22,344, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡatə]. Glatze is at rank #18,569, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡlat͡sə].

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 40913, this pair ranks #1,494,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gatte vs Glatze

Shared letters: aegt. Private to "Gatte": -. Private to "Glatze": lz.

"Gatte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Glatze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gatte ← agtte · gatet · ggatte · gtate
  • Glatze ← galtze · gglatze · glatez · glattze · glatzze · glazte · gllatze · gltaze

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gatte" and "Glatze" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡatə] versus [ˈɡlat͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gatte" vs "Glatze" - which ranks higher?
"Glatze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,569 in our German list, against #22,344 for "Gatte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Gatte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Glatze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,494,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gatte" and "Glatze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gatte vs Glätte". 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 #1,494,704 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