Which to use
“Passiv” is a noun and “passt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,109
- “Passiv” frequency rank
- #838
- “passt” frequency rank
- 11947
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Passiv | passt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine der beiden Diathesen, ein Genus Verbi, Leideform | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs passen |
Where the eye mixes Passiv and passt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Passiv runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against passt's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Passiv and passt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Passiv is [ˈpasiːf] while passt is [past]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Passiv is recorded at frequency rank #11,109, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpasiːf]. 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 11947, this pair ranks #1,967,064 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Passiv vs passt
Shared letters: aps. Private to "Passiv": iv. Private to "passt": t.
"Passiv" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "passt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Passiv" and "passt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Passiv" or "passt"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Passiv" 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 #1,967,064 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Passiv" and "passt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Passiv vs passiver". 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 #1,967,064 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.