platevsPlatteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,211
“plate” frequency rank
#4,638
“Platte” frequency rank
36849
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plate Platte
Definition Teller relativ dünner, flacher und ebener fester Gegenstand, der überall gleich dick ist

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
plate
6 ch
Platte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. plate ([pleɪt]) and Platte ([ˈplatə]) 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 36849, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

plate is recorded at frequency rank #32,211, classified as anoun, pronounced [pleɪt]. Platte is at rank #4,638, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈplatə].

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 36849, this pair ranks #1,605,169 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of plate vs Platte

Shared letters: aelpt. Private to "plate": -. Private to "Platte": -.

"plate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Platte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • platelpate · palte · plaet · pllate · pltae · pplate
  • Plattelpatte · paltte · platet · pllatte · pltate · pplatte

Frequency comparison

plate#32,211
Platte#4,638

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "plate" and "Platte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pleɪt] versus [ˈplatə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "plate" or "Platte"?
"Platte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,638 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 plate vs Platte

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 “plate” 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