pattvspostConfusable pair

Quick tell: patt is a adjective, post is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“patt” is an adjective and “post” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,502
“patt” frequency rank
#1,118
“post” frequency rank
46620
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patt post
Definition Im Schachspiel: nicht im Schach zu stehen, jedoch keinen regelgerechten Zug mehr ausführen können, ohne in ein Schach zu geraten; die Partie wird dann als unentschieden gewertet 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs posen

Where the eye mixes patt and post

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
patt
4 ch
post

Why the eye confuses patt with post

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: patt is [pat] while post is [pɔʊ̯st]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patt is recorded at frequency rank #45,502, classified as anadj, pronounced [pat]. post is at rank #1,118, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɔʊ̯st].

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 46620, this pair ranks #1,312,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of patt vs post

Shared letters: pt. Private to "patt": a. Private to "post": os.

"patt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "post" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pattaptt · pat · ppatt · ptat
  • postopst · posst · postt · pots · ppost · psot

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "patt" and "post" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "patt" is an adjective and "post" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "patt" vs "post" - which ranks higher?
"post" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,118 in our German list, against #45,502 for "patt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "patt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "post" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,312,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patt" and "post" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patt vs Pau". 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 #1,312,861 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