Which to use
“patron” and “Patrone” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,997
- “patron” frequency rank
- #27,442
- “Patrone” frequency rank
- 54439
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patron | Patrone |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Akkusativ Singular des Substantivs patro | zylindrische Metallhülse, die als Munition für Feuerwaffen die Treibladung und das Geschoss enthält |
Where the eye mixes patron and Patrone
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. patron runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Patrone's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses patron with Patrone
A purely visual mix-up. patron ([ˈpatron]) and Patrone ([ˌpaˈtʁoːnə]) 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) - “patron” sits inside “Patrone”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patron is recorded at frequency rank #26,997, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpatron]. Patrone is at rank #27,442, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌpaˈtʁoːnə].
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 54439, this pair ranks #1,018,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patron vs Patrone
Shared letters: anoprt. Private to "patron": -. Private to "Patrone": e.
"patron" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Patrone" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patron" for "Patrone" ever safe?
Frequency check: "patron" vs "Patrone" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "patron" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Patrone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,018,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patron" and "Patrone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pathos vs patron". 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 #1,018,851 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.