Which to use
“patent” and “patente” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,720
- “patent” frequency rank
- #18,013
- “patente” frequency rank
- 28733
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patent | patente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf eine direkte, praktische Art geschickt im Vorgehen und dabei sympathisch nett | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs patent |
Where the eye mixes patent and patente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. patent runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against patente's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses patent with patente
A purely visual mix-up. patent ([paˈtɛnt]) and patente ([paˈtɛntə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “patent” sits inside “patente”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patent is recorded at frequency rank #10,720, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈtɛnt]. patente is at rank #18,013, tagged as anadj, pronounced [paˈtɛntə].
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 28733, this pair ranks #1,779,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of patent vs patente
Shared letters: aenpt. Private to "patent": -. Private to "patente": -.
"patent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "patente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "patent" and "patente" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "patent" vs "patente" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "patent" and "patente" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,779,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patent" and "patente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patente vs Patenten". 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 #1,779,555 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.