Which to use
“blau” is an adjective and “blauen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,871
- “blau” frequency rank
- #3,568
- “blauen” frequency rank
- 5439
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blau | blauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bunte Farbe, im Spektrum eine relativ kurzwellige Farbe zwischen grün und violett; Grundfarbe vieler Farbmodelle, insbesondere eine der drei Grundfarben des digitalen RGB-Farbraums | blau werden (besonders vom Himmel) |
Where the eye mixes blau and blauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses blau with blauen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: blau is [blaʊ̯] while blauen is [ˈblaʊ̯ən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “blau” sits inside “blauen”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blau is recorded at frequency rank #1,871, classified as anadj, pronounced [blaʊ̯]. blauen is at rank #3,568, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈblaʊ̯ən].
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 5439, this pair ranks #1,994,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of blau vs blauen
Shared letters: ablu. Private to "blau": -. Private to "blauen": en.
"blau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "blauen" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "blau" and "blauen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "blau" vs "blauen" - which ranks higher?
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 "blau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,994,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blau" and "blauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "blauen vs Blusen". 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 #1,994,753 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.