packevspackenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,090
“packe” frequency rank
#4,546
“packen” frequency rank
26636
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature packe packen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs packen etwas zusammenlegen, zusammenfalten, wegräumen, in eine gepackte Form (Bündel, Packen, Paket) bringen, zubinden, zusammenkleben, in eine Verpackung tun

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
packe
6 ch
packen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. packe ([ˈpakə]) and packen ([ˈpakn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “packe” sits inside “packen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26636, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

packe is recorded at frequency rank #22,090, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpakə]. packen is at rank #4,546, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpakn̩].

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 26636, this pair ranks #1,814,918 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of packe vs packen

Shared letters: acekp. Private to "packe": -. Private to "packen": n.

"packe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "packen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • packeapcke · paccke · pacek · packke · pakce · pcake · ppacke
  • packenapcken · paccken · pacekn · packenn · packken · packne · pakcen · pcaken

Frequency comparison

packe#22,090
packen#4,546

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "packe" and "packen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpakə] versus [ˈpakn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "packe" or "packen"?
"packen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,546 in our German list, against #22,090 for "packe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering packe vs packen

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 “packe” 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