patent
[paˈtɛnt]
The verdict
“patent” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #10,720 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #10,720
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - auf eine direkte, praktische Art geschickt im Vorgehen und dabei sympathisch nett
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | patent |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [paˈtɛnt] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #10,720 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “patent” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for patent is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [paˈtɛnt]. Corpus data places it at rank #10,720 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for patent, with forms such as "aptent", "paetnt", and "patennt". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "patt", "pater", "Potenz", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is patent, spelled P-A-T-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1auf eine direkte, praktische Art geschickt im Vorgehen und dabei sympathisch nett
- 2auf eine praktische Art sehr brauchbar
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aptent,paetnt,patennt,patentt,patetn,patnet,pattent,ppatent,ptaent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of patent - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "patent"?
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Using “patent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is P-A-T-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [paˈtɛnt] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “patt” - see the side-by-side comparison. patent vs patt
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.