plagenvsPlatinWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#24,074
“plagen” frequency rank
#14,149
“Platin” frequency rank
38223
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plagen Platin
Definition sich großen Anstrengungen unterziehen Element mit dem Zeichen Pt und Ordnungszahl 78 im Periodensystem; Edelmetall

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
plagen
6 ch
Platin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plagen is [ˈplaːɡn̩] while Platin is [ˈplaːtiːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38223, 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]. Platin is at rank #14,149, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈplaːtiːn].

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 38223, this pair ranks #1,569,603 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of plagen vs Platin

Shared letters: alnp. Private to "plagen": eg. Private to "Platin": it.

"plagen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Platin" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • plagenlpagen · palgen · plaegn · plagenn · plaggen · plagne · plgaen · pllagen
  • Platinlpatin · paltin · plaitn · platinn · platni · plattin · pllatin · pltain

Frequency comparison

plagen#24,074
Platin#14,149

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "plagen" and "Platin" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "plagen" is a verb and "Platin" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "plagen" or "Platin"?
"Platin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,149 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 plagen vs Platin

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 “Platin”.
  • 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