pflanzenvspflanztWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,172
“pflanzen” frequency rank
#36,548
“pflanzt” frequency rank
38720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pflanzen pflanzt
Definition zum Anwachsen einsetzen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pflanzen

Where the eye mixes pflanzen and pflanzt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. pflanzen runs 8 letters (CCCVCCVC) against pflanzt's 7 (CCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
pflanzen
7 ch
pflanzt

Look-alike desk: pflanzen vs pflanzt

A purely visual mix-up. pflanzen ([ˈp͡flant͡sn̩]) and pflanzt ([p͡flant͡st]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pflanzen is recorded at frequency rank #2,172, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈp͡flant͡sn̩]. pflanzt is at rank #36,548, tagged as averb, pronounced [p͡flant͡st].

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 38720, this pair ranks #1,556,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pflanzen vs pflanzt

Shared letters: aflnpz. Private to "pflanzen": e. Private to "pflanzt": t.

"pflanzen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "pflanzt" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pflanzen ← fplanzen · pfalnzen · pfflanzen · pflanezn · pflannzen · pflanzenn · pflanzne · pflanzzen
  • pflanzt ← fplanzt · pfalnzt · pfflanzt · pflannzt · pflantz · pflanztt · pflanzzt · pflaznt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pflanzen" for "pflanzt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈp͡flant͡sn̩] versus [p͡flant͡st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pflanzen" or "pflanzt"?
"pflanzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,172 in our German list, against #36,548 for "pflanzt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "pflanzen" and "pflanzt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pflanzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pflanzt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,556,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pflanzen" and "pflanzt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pflanzt vs planst". 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 #1,556,401 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