DreieckvsDreienConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#11,211
“Dreieck” frequency rank
#22,685
“Dreien” frequency rank
33896
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dreieck Dreien
Definition geometrische Figur ^(→ WP), bei der drei nicht auf einer Geraden gelegene Punkte geradlinig verbunden sind und die dadurch entstehende Fläche Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Drei

Where the eye mixes Dreieck and Dreien

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Dreieck runs 7 letters (CCVVVCC) against Dreien's 6 (CCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Dreieck
6 ch
Dreien

Visual trap between Dreieck and Dreien

A purely visual mix-up. Dreieck ([ˈdʁaɪ̯ˌʔɛk]) and Dreien ([ˈdʁaɪ̯ən]) 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 33896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dreieck is recorded at frequency rank #11,211, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdʁaɪ̯ˌʔɛk]. Dreien is at rank #22,685, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdʁaɪ̯ən].

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 33896, this pair ranks #1,675,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Dreieck vs Dreien

Shared letters: deir. Private to "Dreieck": ck. Private to "Dreien": n.

"Dreieck" · 7 letters · shape CCVVVCC  ·  "Dreien" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dreieck ← ddreieck · derieck · dreeick · dreicek · dreiecck · dreieckk · dreiekc · drieeck
  • Dreien ← ddreien · derien · dreein · dreienn · dreine · drieen · drreien · rdeien

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Dreieck" for "Dreien" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʁaɪ̯ˌʔɛk] versus [ˈdʁaɪ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Dreieck" vs "Dreien" - which ranks higher?
"Dreieck" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,211 in our German list, against #22,685 for "Dreien". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dreieck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dreien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,675,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dreieck" and "Dreien" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dreien 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 #1,675,623 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list