brüllenvsBrüstenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: brüllen is a verb, Brüsten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“brüllen” is a verb and “Brüsten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,053
“brüllen” frequency rank
#19,172
“Brüsten” frequency rank
34225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature brüllen Brüsten
Definition mit lauter, (oft) unkontrollierter Stimme in tieferer Tonlage erregt äußern; meist aggressiv Dativ Plural des Substantivs Brust

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set brüllen and Brüsten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
brüllen
7 ch
Brüsten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: brüllen is [ˈbʁʏlən] while Brüsten is [ˈbʁʏstn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34225, 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]. Brüsten is at rank #19,172, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʁʏstn̩].

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 34225, this pair ranks #1,668,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of brüllen vs Brüsten

Shared letters: benrü. Private to "brüllen": l. Private to "Brüsten": st.

"brüllen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Brüsten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

brüllen#15,053
Brüsten#19,172

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "brüllen" and "Brüsten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "brüllen" is a verb and "Brüsten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "brüllen" or "Brüsten"?
"brüllen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,053 in our German list, against #19,172 for "Brüsten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering brüllen vs Brüsten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “brüllen”; for a noun, it's “Brüsten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “brüllen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list