drehtevsdroheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,351
“drehte” frequency rank
#34,050
“drohe” frequency rank
39401
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature drehte drohe
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs drehen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs drohen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set drehte and drohe apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
drehte
5 ch
drohe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. drehte ([ˈdʁeːtə]) and drohe ([ˈdʁoːə]) 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 39401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

drehte is recorded at frequency rank #5,351, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁeːtə]. drohe is at rank #34,050, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁoːə].

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 39401, this pair ranks #1,537,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of drehte vs drohe

Shared letters: dehr. Private to "drehte": t. Private to "drohe": o.

"drehte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "drohe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • drehteddrehte · derhte · drehet · drehhte · drehtte · drethe · drhete · drrehte
  • droheddrohe · dorhe · drhoe · droeh · drohhe · drrohe · rdohe

Frequency comparison

drehte#5,351
drohe#34,050

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "drehte" and "drohe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʁeːtə] versus [ˈdʁoːə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "drehte" or "drohe"?
"drehte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,351 in our German list, against #34,050 for "drohe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering drehte vs drohe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “drehte” 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