passtvsplanstConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#838
“passt” frequency rank
#40,139
“planst” frequency rank
40977
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature passt planst
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs passen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs planen

Where the eye mixes passt and planst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
passt
6 ch
planst

Visual trap between passt and planst

A purely visual mix-up. passt ([past]) and planst ([plaːnst]) 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 40977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

passt is recorded at frequency rank #838, classified as averb, pronounced [past]. planst is at rank #40,139, tagged as averb, pronounced [plaːnst].

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 40977, this pair ranks #1,492,817 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of passt vs planst

Shared letters: apst. Private to "passt": -. Private to "planst": ln.

"passt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "planst" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • passtapsst · passtt · pasts · paßt · ppasst · psast
  • planstlpanst · palnst · plannst · plansst · planstt · plasnt · pllanst · plnast

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "passt" and "planst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([past] versus [plaːnst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "passt" or "planst" show up more?
"passt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #838 in our German list, against #40,139 for "planst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "passt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "planst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,492,817 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "passt" and "planst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "planst vs plants". 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 #1,492,817 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