Which to use
“passen” and “passt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,932
- “passen” frequency rank
- #838
- “passt” frequency rank
- 2770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passen | passt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | angemessen sein, sich eignen, harmonieren; gute Passform haben | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs passen |
Where the eye mixes passen and passt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses passen with passt
A purely visual mix-up. passen ([ˈpasn̩]) and passt ([past]) 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 2770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passen is recorded at frequency rank #1,932, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpasn̩]. passt is at rank #838, tagged as averb, pronounced [past].
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 2770, this pair ranks #2,001,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of passen vs passt
Shared letters: aps. Private to "passen": en. Private to "passt": t.
"passen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "passt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "passen" and "passt" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "passen" vs "passt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "passen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "passt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,001,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passen" and "passt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "passt vs presst". 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 #2,001,611 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.