Which to use
“brauchen” and “brauchten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #597
- “brauchen” frequency rank
- #11,618
- “brauchten” frequency rank
- 12215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | brauchen | brauchten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas brauchen: | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs brauchen |
Where the eye mixes brauchen and brauchten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. brauchen runs 8 letters (CCVVCCVC) against brauchten's 9 (CCVVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between brauchen and brauchten
A purely visual mix-up. brauchen ([ˈbʁaʊ̯xn̩]) and brauchten ([ˈbʁaʊ̯xtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
brauchen is recorded at frequency rank #597, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁaʊ̯xn̩]. brauchten is at rank #11,618, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁaʊ̯xtn̩].
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 12215, this pair ranks #1,965,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of brauchen vs brauchten
Shared letters: abcehnru. Private to "brauchen": -. Private to "brauchten": t.
"brauchen" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC · "brauchten" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "brauchen" for "brauchten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "brauchen" vs "brauchten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "brauchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "brauchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,965,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "brauchen" and "brauchten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bäumchen vs brauchen". 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 #1,965,512 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.