PfannevsPfannenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,542
“Pfanne” frequency rank
#33,754
“Pfannen” frequency rank
44296
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pfanne Pfannen
Definition flaches Gefäß zum Braten auf dem Herd. Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Pfanne

Where the eye mixes Pfanne and Pfannen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Pfanne runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against Pfannen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Pfanne
7 ch
Pfannen

Why the eye confuses Pfanne with Pfannen

A purely visual mix-up. Pfanne ([ˈp͡fanə]) and Pfannen ([ˈp͡fanən]) 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) - “Pfanne” sits inside “Pfannen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pfanne is recorded at frequency rank #10,542, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡fanə]. Pfannen is at rank #33,754, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡fanən].

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 44296, this pair ranks #1,390,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pfanne vs Pfannen

Shared letters: aefnp. Private to "Pfanne": -. Private to "Pfannen": -.

"Pfanne" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Pfannen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfanne ← fpanne · pafnne · pfane · pfanen · pffanne · pfnane · ppfanne
  • Pfannen ← fpannen · pafnnen · pfanenn · pfannenn · pfannne · pffannen · pfnanen · ppfannen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Pfanne" and "Pfannen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈp͡fanə] versus [ˈp͡fanən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Pfanne" or "Pfannen"?
"Pfanne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,542 in our German list, against #33,754 for "Pfannen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfanne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfannen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,390,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pfanne" and "Pfannen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pfannen vs Planken". 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 #1,390,799 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