Which to use
“betrübt” is an adjective and “betrügt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,953
- “betrübt” frequency rank
- #26,780
- “betrügt” frequency rank
- 59733
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | betrübt | betrügt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | niedergeschlagen, traurig | 2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs betragen |
Where the eye mixes betrübt and betrügt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. betrübt and betrügt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between betrübt and betrügt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: betrübt is [bəˈtʁyːpt] while betrügt is [bəˈtʁyːkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “betrübt” becomes g in “betrügt”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
betrübt is recorded at frequency rank #32,953, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈtʁyːpt]. betrügt is at rank #26,780, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁyːkt].
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 59733, this pair ranks #813,432 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of betrübt vs betrügt
Shared letters: bertü. Private to "betrübt": -. Private to "betrügt": g.
"betrübt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "betrügt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "betrübt" for "betrügt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "betrübt" or "betrügt" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "betrübt" and "betrügt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "betrübt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "betrügt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #813,432 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "betrübt" and "betrügt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beitrug vs betrügt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #813,432 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.