Which to use
“duftet” and “durfte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,967
- “duftet” frequency rank
- #2,200
- “durfte” frequency rank
- 28167
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duftet | durfte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs duften | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs dürfen |
Where the eye mixes duftet and durfte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses duftet with durfte
A purely visual mix-up. duftet ([ˈdʊftət]) and durfte ([ˈdʊʁftə]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duftet is recorded at frequency rank #25,967, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊftət]. durfte is at rank #2,200, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊʁftə].
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 28167, this pair ranks #1,789,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of duftet vs durfte
Shared letters: deftu. Private to "duftet": -. Private to "durfte": r.
"duftet" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "durfte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "duftet" for "durfte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "duftet" or "durfte" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "duftet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "durfte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,789,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duftet" and "durfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "duftet vs dürftest". 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 #1,789,405 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.