darfvsdörrWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“darf” and “dörr” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#293
“darf” frequency rank
#48,832
“dörr” frequency rank
49125
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature darf dörr
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dürfen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dörren

Where the eye mixes darf and dörr

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
darf
4 ch
dörr

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. darf ([daʁf]) and dörr ([dœʁ]) 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 49125, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

darf is recorded at frequency rank #293, classified as averb, pronounced [daʁf]. dörr is at rank #48,832, tagged as averb, pronounced [dœʁ].

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 49125, this pair ranks #1,223,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of darf vs dörr

Shared letters: dr. Private to "darf": af. Private to "dörr": ö.

"darf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "dörr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • darfadrf · dafr · darff · darrf · ddarf · draf

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "darf" and "dörr" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([daʁf] versus [dœʁ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "darf" or "dörr"?
"darf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #293 in our German list, against #48,832 for "dörr". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list