patter

/ˈpæt.ə/

//ˈpæt.ə// noun

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

"patter" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“patter” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,547. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,547
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A soft repeated sound, as of rain falling, or feet walking on a hard surface.

Corpus desk

Index EN-patter · patter · English

patter · rank #38,547 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,547
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peerage

Nearest frequency peer: peerage (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “patter”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “patter” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the 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).

patter vs Peter
50% similar
patter vs Patty
50% similar
patter vs payer
67% similar

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

Key facts for patter
PropertyValue
Headwordpatter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpæt.ə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#38,547
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “patter”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).patterlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “peerage” (#38,548), “parti” (#38,545), “Peirce” (#38,549). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “patter” is #38,547. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around patter (IPA /ˈpæt.ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,547 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A soft repeated sound, as of rain falling, or feet walking on a hard surface.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for patter, with forms such as "aptter", "pater", and "patetr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Peter", "Patty", "payer", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1610s, pat + -er (“frequentative (indicating repeated action)”), of (onomatopoeia) origin. The correct English form is patter, spelled P-A-T-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A soft repeated sound, as of rain falling, or feet walking on a hard surface.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I could hear the patter of mice running about in the dark.
  2. The patter of feet, and clatter of strap and swivel, seemed to swell into a bewildering din, but they were almost upon the fielato offices, where the carretera entered the town, before a rifle flashed.

Etymology

1610s, pat + -er (“frequentative (indicating repeated action)”), of (onomatopoeia) origin.

This word in other languages

pisada(Español)Trippeln(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aptter
  • pater
  • patetr
  • patterr
  • pattre
  • ppatter
  • ptater

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of patter - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aptter2pater1patetr2patterr1pattre2ppatter1ptater2
Edit distance from "patter"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "patter"?
"patter" is spelled P-A-T-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpæt.ə/.
What does "patter" mean?
As a noun, "patter" means: A soft repeated sound, as of rain falling, or feet walking on a hard surface.
What words are commonly confused with "patter"?
"patter" is commonly confused with "Peter", "Patty", "payer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "patter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "patter" is /ˈpæt.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "patter"?
1610s, pat + -er (“frequentative (indicating repeated action)”), of (onomatopoeia) origin. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Peirce#38,549odious#38,524oddity#38,523Ramesh#38,572

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

parti7 variantsquads7 variantsmutter7 variantsmowed7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list