Which to use
“Dauer” is a noun and “dauern” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,238
- “Dauer” frequency rank
- #2,883
- “dauern” frequency rank
- 5121
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dauer | dauern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zeitliche Erstreckung von etwas | über bestimmten Zeitraum erstrecken, für eine bestimmt Zeitspanne anhalten, währen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Dauer and dauern apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Dauer and dauern form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Dauer” sits inside “dauern” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Dauer is recorded at frequency rank #2,238, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdaʊ̯ɐ]. dauern is at rank #2,883, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdaʊ̯ɐn].
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 5121, this pair ranks #1,995,731 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Dauer" and "dauern" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Dauer vs dauern
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Dauer”; for a verb, it's “dauern”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Dauer” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable