Which to use
“plate” is a noun and “platzte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,211
- “plate” frequency rank
- #35,957
- “platzte” frequency rank
- 68168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plate | platzte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Teller | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs platzen |
Where the eye mixes plate and platzte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses plate with platzte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plate is [pleɪt] while platzte is [ˈplat͡stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68168, 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]. platzte is at rank #35,957, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈplat͡stə].
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 68168, this pair ranks #516,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of plate vs platzte
Shared letters: aelpt. Private to "plate": -. Private to "platzte": z.
"plate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "platzte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "plate" for "platzte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "plate" or "platzte" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "plate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "platzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #516,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plate" and "platzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plants vs plate". 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 #516,540 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.