drückevsdrücktenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,636
“drücke” frequency rank
#36,268
“drückten” frequency rank
46904
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature drücke drückten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs drücken 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs drücken

Where the eye mixes drücke and drückten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
drücke
8 ch
drückten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. drücke ([ˈdʁʏkə]) and drückten ([ˈdʁʏktn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46904, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

drücke is recorded at frequency rank #10,636, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁʏkə]. drückten is at rank #36,268, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁʏktn̩].

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 46904, this pair ranks #1,302,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of drücke vs drückten

Shared letters: cdekrü. Private to "drücke": -. Private to "drückten": nt.

"drücke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "drückten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "drücke" and "drückten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʁʏkə] versus [ˈdʁʏktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "drücke" or "drückten"?
"drücke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,636 in our German list, against #36,268 for "drückten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list