Which to use
“drehe” and “drehte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,334
- “drehe” frequency rank
- #5,351
- “drehte” frequency rank
- 20685
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | drehe | drehte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs drehen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs drehen |
Where the eye mixes drehe and drehte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. drehe runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against drehte's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: drehe vs drehte
A purely visual mix-up. drehe ([ˈdʁeːə]) and drehte ([ˈdʁeːtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
drehe is recorded at frequency rank #15,334, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁeːə]. drehte is at rank #5,351, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁeːtə].
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 20685, this pair ranks #1,894,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of drehe vs drehte
Shared letters: dehr. Private to "drehe": -. Private to "drehte": t.
"drehe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "drehte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "drehe" and "drehte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "drehe" or "drehte"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "drehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "drehte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,894,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "drehe" and "drehte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "drehe vs drein". 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 #1,894,934 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.