Which to use
“patent” is an adjective and “Potenz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,720
- “patent” frequency rank
- #20,703
- “Potenz” frequency rank
- 31423
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patent | Potenz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf eine direkte, praktische Art geschickt im Vorgehen und dabei sympathisch nett | Fähigkeit zu einer Sache oder Handlung; Leistungsfähigkeit |
Where the eye mixes patent and Potenz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. patent and Potenz follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses patent with Potenz
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: patent is [paˈtɛnt] while Potenz is [ˌpoˈtɛnt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31423, 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]. Potenz is at rank #20,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌpoˈtɛnt͡s].
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 31423, this pair ranks #1,728,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of patent vs Potenz
Shared letters: enpt. Private to "patent": a. Private to "Potenz": oz.
"patent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "Potenz" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "patent" and "Potenz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "patent" vs "Potenz" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "patent" and "Potenz" 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 "Potenz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,728,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patent" and "Potenz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patent 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 #1,728,399 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.