durchvsdürrWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: durch is a preposition, dürr is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“durch” is a preposition and “dürr” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#67
“durch” frequency rank
#25,514
“dürr” frequency rank
25581
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature durch dürr
Definition in etwas hinein und auf der anderen Seite wieder heraus (wobei oft der Teil dazwischen das Wichtige ist) trocken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set durch and dürr apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
durch
4 ch
dürr

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

durch and dürr form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25581, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

durch is recorded at frequency rank #67, classified as aprep, pronounced [dʊʁç]. dürr is at rank #25,514, tagged as anadj, pronounced [dʏʁ].

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 25581, this pair ranks #1,831,092 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

durch#67
dürr#25,514

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "durch" and "dürr" be used interchangeably?
No, "durch" and "dürr" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering durch vs dürr

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “durch”; for an adjective, it's “dürr”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “durch” 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