plagenvsplateWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: plagen is a verb, plate is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“plagen” is a verb and “plate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,074
“plagen” frequency rank
#32,211
“plate” frequency rank
56285
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plagen plate
Definition sich großen Anstrengungen unterziehen Teller

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set plagen and plate apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
plagen
5 ch
plate

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plagen is [ˈplaːɡn̩] while plate is [pleɪt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

plagen is recorded at frequency rank #24,074, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈplaːɡn̩]. plate is at rank #32,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pleɪt].

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 56285, this pair ranks #946,186 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of plagen vs plate

Shared letters: aelp. Private to "plagen": gn. Private to "plate": t.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • plagenlpagen · palgen · plaegn · plagenn · plaggen · plagne · plgaen · pllagen
  • platelpate · palte · plaet · pllate · pltae · pplate

Frequency comparison

plagen#24,074
plate#32,211

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "plagen" and "plate" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "plagen" is a verb and "plate" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "plagen" or "plate"?
"plagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,074 in our German list, against #32,211 for "plate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering plagen vs plate

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “plagen”; for a noun, it's “plate”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “plagen” 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