PartienvsPartikelnWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,749
“Partien” frequency rank
#49,142
“Partikeln” frequency rank
54891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Partien Partikeln
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Partie Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Partikel

Where the eye mixes Partien and Partikeln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Partien runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against Partikeln's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Partien
9 ch
Partikeln

Look-alike desk: Partien vs Partikeln

A purely visual mix-up. Partien ([paʁˈtiːən]) and Partikeln ([paʁˈtɪkl̩n]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Partien is recorded at frequency rank #5,749, classified as anoun, pronounced [paʁˈtiːən]. Partikeln is at rank #49,142, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paʁˈtɪkl̩n].

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 54891, this pair ranks #1,000,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Partien vs Partikeln

Shared letters: aeinprt. Private to "Partien": -. Private to "Partikeln": kl.

"Partien" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "Partikeln" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Partien ← aprtien · pariten · parrtien · partein · partienn · partine · parttien · patrien
  • Partikeln ← aprtikeln · paritkeln · parrtikeln · partiekln · partikelln · partikelnn · partikenl · partikkeln

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Partien" for "Partikeln" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([paʁˈtiːən] versus [paʁˈtɪkl̩n]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Partien" or "Partikeln" show up more?
"Partien" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,749 in our German list, against #49,142 for "Partikeln". 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 "Partien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Partikeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,000,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Partien" and "Partikeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "partiell vs Partikeln". 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 #1,000,951 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