duftenvsDünenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: duften is a verb, Dünen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“duften” is a verb and “Dünen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,865
“duften” frequency rank
#26,369
“Dünen” frequency rank
72234
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duften Dünen
Definition angenehmen Geruch abgeben, verströmen, verbreiten Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Düne

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
duften
5 ch
Dünen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duften is [ˈdʊftn̩] while Dünen is [ˈdyːnən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72234, 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]. Dünen is at rank #26,369, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdyːnən].

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 72234, this pair ranks #393,961 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of duften vs Dünen

Shared letters: den. Private to "duften": ftu. Private to "Dünen": ü.

"duften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Dünen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • duftendduften · dfuten · dufetn · dufften · duftenn · duftne · duftten · dutfen

Frequency comparison

duften#45,865
Dünen#26,369

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duften" and "Dünen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "duften" is a verb and "Dünen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "duften" or "Dünen"?
"Dünen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,369 in our German list, against #45,865 for "duften". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering duften vs Dünen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “duften”; for a noun, it's “Dünen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “duften” 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