dichtenvsdrohtenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,050
“dichten” frequency rank
#25,966
“drohten” frequency rank
38016
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dichten drohten
Definition ein sprachliches Kunstwerk verfassen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs drohen

Where the eye mixes dichten and drohten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
dichten
7 ch
drohten

Visual trap between dichten and drohten

A purely visual mix-up. dichten ([ˈdɪçtn̩]) and drohten ([ˈdʁoːtn̩]) 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 38016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dichten is recorded at frequency rank #12,050, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɪçtn̩]. drohten is at rank #25,966, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁoːtn̩].

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 38016, this pair ranks #1,575,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dichten vs drohten

Shared letters: dehnt. Private to "dichten": ci. Private to "drohten": or.

"dichten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "drohten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dichtendcihten · ddichten · dicchten · dichetn · dichhten · dichtenn · dichtne · dichtten
  • drohtenddrohten · dorhten · drhoten · drohetn · drohhten · drohtenn · drohtne · drohtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dichten" and "drohten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɪçtn̩] versus [ˈdʁoːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dichten" vs "drohten" - which ranks higher?
"dichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,050 in our German list, against #25,966 for "drohten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "drohten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,575,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dichten" and "drohten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "drohe vs drohten". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,575,084 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list