Pate

[ˈpaːtə]

/[ˈpaːtə]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Pate” has 5 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #19,335. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,335
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ehrenamt in christlichen Kirchen zur Unterstützung der Eltern bei der religiösen Erziehung und Zeuge bei einer Sakramentsspendung

Corpus desk

Index DE-pate · Pate · German

Pate · rank #19,335 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,335
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pascha

Nearest frequency peer: Pascha (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Pate“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Pate“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Pate vs Pt
50% similar
Pate vs pay
25% similar
Pate vs put
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Pate
PropertyValue
HeadwordPate
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈpaːtə]
Letters4
Frequency rank#19,335
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Pate“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Pateliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Pascha“ (#19,334), „Patriotismus“ (#19,336), „oval“ (#19,333). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Pate“ bei #19,335. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around Pate (IPA [ˈpaːtə]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,335 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Pate, with forms such as "apte", "paet", and "patte". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Pt", "pay", "put", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Pate, spelled P-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ehrenamt in christlichen Kirchen zur Unterstützung der Eltern bei der religiösen Erziehung und Zeuge bei einer Sakramentsspendung
  2. 2
    Rolle bei weltlichen Feiern anlässlich einer Geburt
  3. 3
    eingesetzter Unterstützer für eine bestimmte Sache
  4. 4
    Ansprechperson der gleichen hierarchischen Ebene, die neue Mitarbeiter fachlich und sozial einführt, mit der Arbeitsumgebung, den Kollegen und den (un)geschriebenen Gesetzen des Unternehmens vertraut ist
  5. 5
    kurz für Namenspate
  6. 6
    kurz für Mafiapate (Führungsposition der Mafia)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Pate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ich bin der Pate eines befreundeten Kindes.
  2. „Wer mehr als einmal Pate wird, gibt seinen Namen entsprechend oft weiter; werden die Patenkinder selbst zu Paten, vermehren sie ihrerseits einen ihrer Patennamen, den Rufnamen, bei ihren Patenkindern und so fort“

Synonyms

MentorNamenspateMafiapateMafia-Pate

This word in other languages

godfather(English)padrino(Español)parrain(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apte
  • paet
  • patte
  • ppate
  • ptae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Pate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

apte2paet2patte1ppate1ptae2
Edit distance from "Pate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Pate"?
"Pate" is spelled P-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈpaːtə].
What does "Pate" mean?
As a noun, "Pate" means: Ehrenamt in christlichen Kirchen zur Unterstützung der Eltern bei der religiösen Erziehung und Zeuge bei einer Sakramentsspendung
What words are commonly confused with "Pate"?
"Pate" is commonly confused with "Pt", "pay", "put". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Pate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Pate" is [ˈpaːtə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Pate" come from?
"Pate" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Pate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

oval#19,333Olli#19,328plot#19,342Oase#19,326

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

niki5 variantsMuse5 variantsLynn5 variantsKeim5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list