pattvsprägtConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#45,502
“patt” frequency rank
#15,974
“prägt” frequency rank
61476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patt prägt
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 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs prägen

Where the eye mixes patt and prägt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. patt runs 4 letters (CVCC) against prägt's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
patt
5 ch
prägt

Why the eye confuses patt with prägt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: patt is [pat] while prägt is [pʁɛːkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61476, 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]. prägt is at rank #15,974, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁɛːkt].

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 61476, this pair ranks #748,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of patt vs prägt

Shared letters: pt. Private to "patt": a. Private to "prägt": grä.

"patt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "prägt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • patt ← aptt · pat · ppatt · ptat

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "patt" and "prägt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "patt" is an adjective and "prägt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "patt" or "prägt" show up more?
"prägt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,974 in our German list, against #45,502 for "patt". 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 "patt" and "prägt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "patt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "prägt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #748,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patt" and "prägt" 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 #748,355 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