drohevsdrohenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,050
“drohe” frequency rank
#6,409
“drohen” frequency rank
40459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature drohe drohen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs drohen jemanden durch die Ankündigung von Gewalt oder Sanktionen einschüchtern oder zwingen, etwas zu tun

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set drohe and drohen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
drohe
6 ch
drohen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. drohe ([ˈdʁoːə]) and drohen ([ˈdʁoːən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “drohe” sits inside “drohen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

drohe is recorded at frequency rank #34,050, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁoːə]. drohen is at rank #6,409, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁoːən].

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 40459, this pair ranks #1,507,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of drohe vs drohen

Shared letters: dehor. Private to "drohe": -. Private to "drohen": n.

"drohe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "drohen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • droheddrohe · dorhe · drhoe · droeh · drohhe · drrohe · rdohe
  • drohenddrohen · dorhen · drhoen · droehn · drohenn · drohhen · drrohen · rdohen

Frequency comparison

drohe#34,050
drohen#6,409

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "drohe" and "drohen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʁoːə] versus [ˈdʁoːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "drohe" or "drohen"?
"drohen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,409 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 drohe vs drohen

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 “drohe” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list