plagevsplagenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,073
“plage” frequency rank
#24,074
“plagen” frequency rank
48147
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plage plagen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs plagen sich großen Anstrengungen unterziehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set plage and plagen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
plage
6 ch
plagen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. plage ([ˈplaːɡə]) and plagen ([ˈplaːɡn̩]) 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) - “plage” sits inside “plagen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

plage is recorded at frequency rank #24,073, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈplaːɡə]. plagen is at rank #24,074, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈplaːɡn̩].

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 48147, this pair ranks #1,259,098 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of plage vs plagen

Shared letters: aeglp. Private to "plage": -. Private to "plagen": n.

"plage" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "plagen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • plagelpage · palge · plaeg · plagge · plgae · pllage · pplage
  • plagenlpagen · palgen · plaegn · plagenn · plaggen · plagne · plgaen · pllagen

Frequency comparison

plage#24,073
plagen#24,074

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "plage" and "plagen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈplaːɡə] versus [ˈplaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "plage" or "plagen"?
"plage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,073 in our German list, against #24,074 for "plagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering plage vs plagen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “plage” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list