plagenvsPlattenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#24,074
“plagen” frequency rank
#5,750
“Platten” frequency rank
29824
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plagen Platten
Definition sich großen Anstrengungen unterziehen Reifen, der auf Grund eines Lochs seine Luft verloren hat

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
plagen
7 ch
Platten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plagen is [ˈplaːɡn̩] while Platten is [ˈplatn̩]. 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 29824, 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]. Platten is at rank #5,750, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈplatn̩].

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 29824, this pair ranks #1,759,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of plagen vs Platten

Shared letters: aelnp. Private to "plagen": g. Private to "Platten": t.

"plagen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Platten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • plagenlpagen · palgen · plaegn · plagenn · plaggen · plagne · plgaen · pllagen
  • Plattenlpatten · paltten · platen · platetn · plattenn · plattne · pllatten · pltaten

Frequency comparison

plagen#24,074
Platten#5,750

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "plagen" and "Platten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "plagen" is a verb and "Platten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "plagen" or "Platten"?
"Platten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,750 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 Platten

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 “Platten”.
  • 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