PatronevsPatronenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#27,442
“Patrone” frequency rank
#21,017
“Patronen” frequency rank
48459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Patrone Patronen
Definition zylindrische Metallhülse, die als Munition für Feuerwaffen die Treibladung und das Geschoss enthält Dativ Plural des Substantivs Patron

Where the eye mixes Patrone and Patronen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Patrone runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against Patronen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Patrone
8 ch
Patronen

Look-alike desk: Patrone vs Patronen

A purely visual mix-up. Patrone ([ˌpaˈtʁoːnə]) and Patronen ([ˌpaˈtʁoːnən]) 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) - “Patrone” sits inside “Patronen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Patrone is recorded at frequency rank #27,442, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌpaˈtʁoːnə]. Patronen is at rank #21,017, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌpaˈtʁoːnən].

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 48459, this pair ranks #1,247,830 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Patrone vs Patronen

Shared letters: aenoprt. Private to "Patrone": -. Private to "Patronen": -.

"Patrone" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "Patronen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Patrone ← aptrone · partone · patorne · patrnoe · patroen · patrrone · pattrone · ppatrone
  • Patronen ← aptronen · partonen · patornen · patrnoen · patroenn · patronenn · patronne · patronnen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Patrone" and "Patronen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌpaˈtʁoːnə] versus [ˌpaˈtʁoːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Patrone" or "Patronen"?
"Patronen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,017 in our German list, against #27,442 for "Patrone". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Patrone" and "Patronen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Patrone" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Patronen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,247,830 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Patrone" and "Patronen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patron vs Patrone". 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 #1,247,830 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