Which to use
“duften” and “durften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,865
- “duften” frequency rank
- #4,603
- “durften” frequency rank
- 50468
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duften | durften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | angenehmen Geruch abgeben, verströmen, verbreiten | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs dürfen |
Where the eye mixes duften and durften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses duften with durften
A purely visual mix-up. duften ([ˈdʊftn̩]) and durften ([ˈdʊʁftn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50468, 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]. durften is at rank #4,603, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊʁftn̩].
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 50468, this pair ranks #1,172,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of duften vs durften
Shared letters: defntu. Private to "duften": -. Private to "durften": r.
"duften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "durften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "duften" and "durften" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "duften" or "durften" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "duften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "durften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,172,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duften" and "durften" 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 #1,172,597 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.