Which to use
“brüllen” and “brüllte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,053
- “brüllen” frequency rank
- #45,191
- “brüllte” frequency rank
- 60244
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | brüllen | brüllte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit lauter, (oft) unkontrollierter Stimme in tieferer Tonlage erregt äußern; meist aggressiv | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs brüllen |
Where the eye mixes brüllen and brüllte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. brüllen (CCVCCVC) and brüllte (CCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between brüllen and brüllte
A purely visual mix-up. brüllen ([ˈbʁʏlən]) and brüllte ([ˈbʁʏltə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60244, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
brüllen is recorded at frequency rank #15,053, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁʏlən]. brüllte is at rank #45,191, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁʏltə].
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 60244, this pair ranks #794,230 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of brüllen vs brüllte
Shared letters: belrü. Private to "brüllen": n. Private to "brüllte": t.
"brüllen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "brüllte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "brüllen" and "brüllte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "brüllen" vs "brüllte" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "brüllen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "brüllte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #794,230 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "brüllen" and "brüllte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "brüllt vs brüllte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #794,230 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.