Which to use
“duften” and “dulden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,865
- “duften” frequency rank
- #14,272
- “dulden” frequency rank
- 60137
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duften | dulden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | angenehmen Geruch abgeben, verströmen, verbreiten | mit einem Zustand oder einem Verhalten einverstanden sein, wenn man sich in der Position befindet es unterbinden zu können |
Where the eye mixes duften and dulden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. duften and dulden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between duften and dulden
A purely visual mix-up. duften ([ˈdʊftn̩]) and dulden ([ˈdʊldn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duften is recorded at frequency rank #45,865, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊftn̩]. dulden is at rank #14,272, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊldn̩].
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 60137, this pair ranks #798,142 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of duften vs dulden
Shared letters: denu. Private to "duften": ft. Private to "dulden": l.
"duften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "dulden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "duften" for "dulden" ever safe?
Frequency check: "duften" vs "dulden" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "duften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dulden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #798,142 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duften" and "dulden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "duften vs Dukaten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #798,142 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.