PfadevsPhaseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,125
“Pfade” frequency rank
#2,407
“Phase” frequency rank
28532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pfade Phase
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Pfad stetig verlaufender Entwicklungsabschnitt oder stetiger zeitlicher Ablauf

Where the eye mixes Pfade and Phase

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Pfade
5 ch
Phase

Look-alike desk: Pfade vs Phase

A purely visual mix-up. Pfade ([ˈp͡faːdə]) and Phase ([ˈfaːzə]) 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 28532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pfade is recorded at frequency rank #26,125, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡faːdə]. Phase is at rank #2,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfaːzə].

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 28532, this pair ranks #1,783,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Pfade vs Phase

Shared letters: aep. Private to "Pfade": df. Private to "Phase": hs.

"Pfade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Phase" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfadefpade · pafde · pfadde · pfaed · pfdae · pffade · ppfade
  • Phasehpase · pahse · phaes · phasse · phhase · phsae · pphase

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Pfade" and "Phase" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈp͡faːdə] versus [ˈfaːzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Pfade" or "Phase"?
"Phase" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,407 in our German list, against #26,125 for "Pfade". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Phase" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,783,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pfade" and "Phase" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "padre vs Pfade". 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 #1,783,073 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