DunstvsDurstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,012
“Dunst” frequency rank
#11,217
“Durst” frequency rank
41229
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dunst Durst
Definition feiner Nebel (heftiges) Verlangen zu trinken

Where the eye mixes Dunst and Durst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Dunst
5 ch
Durst

Look-alike desk: Dunst vs Durst

A purely visual mix-up. Dunst ([dʊnst]) and Durst ([dʊʁst]) 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 a single letter - n in “Dunst” becomes r in “Durst”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41229, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dunst is recorded at frequency rank #30,012, classified as anoun, pronounced [dʊnst]. Durst is at rank #11,217, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dʊʁst].

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 41229, this pair ranks #1,485,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Dunst vs Durst

Shared letters: dstu. Private to "Dunst": n. Private to "Durst": r.

"Dunst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Durst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dunstddunst · dnust · dunnst · dunsst · dunstt · dunts · dusnt · udnst
  • Durstddurst · drust · durrst · dursst · durstt · durts · dusrt · udrst

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Dunst" for "Durst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([dʊnst] versus [dʊʁst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Dunst" or "Durst"?
"Durst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,217 in our German list, against #30,012 for "Dunst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dunst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Durst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,485,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dunst" and "Durst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Düne vs Dunst". 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 #1,485,616 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list