drücktevsdrücktenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,839
“drückte” frequency rank
#36,268
“drückten” frequency rank
47107
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes drückte and drückten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
drückte
8 ch
drückten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. drückte ([ˈdʁʏktə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “drückte” sits inside “drückten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47107, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

drückte is recorded at frequency rank #10,839, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʁʏktə]. 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 47107, this pair ranks #1,295,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of drückte vs drückten

Shared letters: cdekrtü. Private to "drückte": -. Private to "drückten": n.

"drückte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV  ·  "drückten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "drückte" and "drückten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʁʏktə] versus [ˈdʁʏktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "drückte" or "drückten"?
"drückte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,839 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