Which to use
“dritten” is an adjective and “drohten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #965
- “dritten” frequency rank
- #25,966
- “drohten” frequency rank
- 26931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dritten | drohten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs dritte | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs drohen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dritten and drohten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dritten is [ˈdʁɪtn̩] while drohten is [ˈdʁoːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dritten is recorded at frequency rank #965, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʁɪtn̩]. drohten is at rank #25,966, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁoːtn̩].
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 26931, this pair ranks #1,810,030 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dritten vs drohten
Shared letters: denrt. Private to "dritten": i. Private to "drohten": ho.
"dritten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "drohten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dritten" and "drohten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dritten" or "drohten"?
Remembering dritten vs drohten
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dritten”; for a verb, it's “drohten”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dritten” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable