plagtvsprägteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#41,394
“plagt” frequency rank
#21,393
“prägte” frequency rank
62787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plagt prägte
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs plagen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs prägen

Where the eye mixes plagt and prägte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. plagt runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against prägte's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
plagt
6 ch
prägte

Visual trap between plagt and prägte

A purely visual mix-up. plagt ([plaːkt]) and prägte ([ˈpʁɛːktə]) 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 62787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

plagt is recorded at frequency rank #41,394, classified as averb, pronounced [plaːkt]. prägte is at rank #21,393, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁɛːktə].

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 62787, this pair ranks #700,276 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of plagt vs prägte

Shared letters: gpt. Private to "plagt": al. Private to "prägte": erä.

"plagt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "prägte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • plagt ← lpagt · palgt · plaggt · plagtt · platg · plgat · pllagt · pplagt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "plagt" for "prägte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([plaːkt] versus [ˈpʁɛːktə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "plagt" or "prägte" show up more?
"prägte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,393 in our German list, against #41,394 for "plagt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "plagt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "prägte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #700,276 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "plagt" and "prägte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plagt vs plants". 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 #700,276 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