drückevsduckWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,636
“drücke” frequency rank
#17,855
“duck” frequency rank
28491
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature drücke duck
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs drücken 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ducken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set drücke and duck apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
drücke
4 ch
duck

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. drücke ([ˈdʁʏkə]) and duck ([dʊk]) 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 28491, 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]. duck is at rank #17,855, tagged as averb, pronounced [dʊk].

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 28491, this pair ranks #1,783,800 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of drücke vs duck

Shared letters: cdk. Private to "drücke": erü. Private to "duck": u.

"drücke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "duck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • duckdcuk · dduck · ducck · duckk · dukc · udck

Frequency comparison

drücke#10,636
duck#17,855

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "drücke" and "duck" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʁʏkə] versus [dʊk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "drücke" or "duck"?
"drücke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,636 in our German list, against #17,855 for "duck". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering drücke vs duck

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 “drücke” 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