Which to use
“Dreck” is a noun and “dreckig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,110
- “Dreck” frequency rank
- #12,260
- “dreckig” frequency rank
- 16370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dreck | dreckig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Schmutz, unerwünschte Substanz | schmutzig, von Dreck befallen |
Where the eye mixes Dreck and dreckig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Dreck with dreckig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dreck is [dʁɛk] while dreckig is [ˈdʁɛkɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Dreck” sits inside “dreckig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Dreck is recorded at frequency rank #4,110, classified as anoun, pronounced [dʁɛk]. dreckig is at rank #12,260, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʁɛkɪç].
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 16370, this pair ranks #1,936,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Dreck vs dreckig
Shared letters: cdekr. Private to "Dreck": -. Private to "dreckig": gi.
"Dreck" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "dreckig" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Dreck" for "dreckig" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Dreck" vs "dreckig" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Dreck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dreckig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,936,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Dreck" and "dreckig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dreckig vs dreckiges". 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 #1,936,414 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.