patchvspatchesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,666
“patch” frequency rank
#40,746
“patches” frequency rank
60412
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patch patches
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs patchen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs patch

Letter map: patch vs patches

Shared letters muted; letters that set patch and patches apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

5 ch
patch
7 ch
patches

Spelling & dictionary notes on patch vs patches

patch and patches are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “patch” sits inside “patches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60412, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patch is recorded at frequency rank #19,666, classified as averb, pronounced [pæt͡ʃ]. patches is at rank #40,746, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 60412, this pair ranks #787,992 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of patch vs patches

Shared letters: achpt. Private to "patch": -. Private to "patches": es.

"patch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "patches" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • patchaptch · pacth · patcch · patchh · pathc · pattch · ppatch · ptach
  • patchesaptches · pacthes · patcches · patcehs · patchess · patchhes · patchse · pathces

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "patch" for "patches" ever safe?
No. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “patch” sits inside “patches”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "patch" vs "patches" - which ranks higher?
"patch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,666 in our German list, against #40,746 for "patches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "patch" and "patches". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "patch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "patches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #787,992 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patch" and "patches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patches vs puzzles". 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 #787,992 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