PausenvsPhasenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,337
“Pausen” frequency rank
#7,092
“Phasen” frequency rank
17429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pausen Phasen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Pause Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Phase

Where the eye mixes Pausen and Phasen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Pausen
6 ch
Phasen

Look-alike desk: Pausen vs Phasen

A purely visual mix-up. Pausen ([ˈpaʊ̯zn̩]) and Phasen ([ˈfaːzn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pausen is recorded at frequency rank #10,337, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpaʊ̯zn̩]. Phasen is at rank #7,092, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfaːzn̩].

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 17429, this pair ranks #1,927,476 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Pausen vs Phasen

Shared letters: aenps. Private to "Pausen": u. Private to "Phasen": h.

"Pausen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Phasen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pausenapusen · pasuen · pauesn · pausenn · pausne · paussen · ppausen · puasen
  • Phasenhpasen · pahsen · phaesn · phasenn · phasne · phassen · phhasen · phsaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pausen" and "Phasen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpaʊ̯zn̩] versus [ˈfaːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Pausen" vs "Phasen" - which ranks higher?
"Phasen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,092 in our German list, against #10,337 for "Pausen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Pausen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Phasen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,927,476 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pausen" and "Phasen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Paule vs Pausen". 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 #1,927,476 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