dehnenvsdeutenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,818
“dehnen” frequency rank
#8,190
“deuten” frequency rank
35008
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dehnen deuten
Definition etwas ausweiten, strecken, vergrößern auf ein Objekt weisen; hinweisen, zeigen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dehnen and deuten apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
dehnen
6 ch
deuten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dehnen ([ˈdeːnən]) and deuten ([ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩]) 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 35008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dehnen is recorded at frequency rank #26,818, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdeːnən]. deuten is at rank #8,190, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩].

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 35008, this pair ranks #1,650,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dehnen vs deuten

Shared letters: den. Private to "dehnen": h. Private to "deuten": tu.

"dehnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "deuten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dehnenddehnen · dehenn · dehhnen · dehnenn · dehnne · dehnnen · denhen · dhenen
  • deutenddeuten · detuen · deuetn · deutenn · deutne · deutten · dueten · eduten

Frequency comparison

dehnen#26,818
deuten#8,190

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dehnen" and "deuten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdeːnən] versus [ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dehnen" or "deuten"?
"deuten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,190 in our German list, against #26,818 for "dehnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dehnen vs deuten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dehnen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list