downvsdranWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: down is a adjective, dran is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“down” is an adjective and “dran” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,973
“down” frequency rank
#964
“dran” frequency rank
5937
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature down dran
Definition deprimiert bis depressiv eine direkte räumliche Berührung ausdrückend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set down and dran apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
down
4 ch
dran

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

down and dran form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

down is recorded at frequency rank #4,973, classified as anadj, pronounced [daʊ̯n]. dran is at rank #964, tagged as anadv, pronounced [dʁan].

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 5937, this pair ranks #1,993,246 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

down#4,973
dran#964

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "down" and "dran" be used interchangeably?
No, "down" and "dran" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering down vs dran

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “down”; for an adverb, it's “dran”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “down” 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