Which to use
“direkten” is an adjective and “drehten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,237
- “direkten” frequency rank
- #17,260
- “drehten” frequency rank
- 20497
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | direkten | drehten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs direkt | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs drehen |
Where the eye mixes direkten and drehten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. direkten runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against drehten's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses direkten with drehten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: direkten is [diˈʁɛktn̩] while drehten is [ˈdʁeːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
direkten is recorded at frequency rank #3,237, classified as anadj, pronounced [diˈʁɛktn̩]. drehten is at rank #17,260, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁeːtn̩].
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 20497, this pair ranks #1,897,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of direkten vs drehten
Shared letters: denrt. Private to "direkten": ik. Private to "drehten": h.
"direkten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "drehten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "direkten" for "drehten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "direkten" vs "drehten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "direkten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "drehten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,897,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "direkten" and "drehten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Drähte vs drehten". 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 #1,897,004 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.