Which to use
“durchdrehen” and “durchgehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,005
- “durchdrehen” frequency rank
- #11,215
- “durchgehen” frequency rank
- 43220
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | durchdrehen | durchgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nahrung durch den Fleischwolf drehen | sich durch etwas hindurch bewegen |
Where the eye mixes durchdrehen and durchgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. durchdrehen runs 11 letters (CVCCCCCVCVC) against durchgehen's 10 (CVCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses durchdrehen with durchgehen
A purely visual mix-up. durchdrehen ([ˈdʊʁçˌdʁeːən]) and durchgehen ([ˈdʊʁçˌɡeːən]) 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 43220, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
durchdrehen is recorded at frequency rank #32,005, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊʁçˌdʁeːən]. durchgehen is at rank #11,215, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊʁçˌɡeːən].
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 43220, this pair ranks #1,424,963 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of durchdrehen vs durchgehen
Shared letters: cdehnru. Private to "durchdrehen": -. Private to "durchgehen": g.
"durchdrehen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCVC · "durchgehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- durchdrehen ← ddurchdrehen · druchdrehen · ducrhdrehen · durcchdrehen · durcdhrehen · durchddrehen · durchderhen · durchdreehn
- durchgehen ← ddurchgehen · druchgehen · ducrhgehen · durcchgehen · durcghehen · durcheghen · durchgeehn · durchgehenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "durchdrehen" for "durchgehen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "durchdrehen" or "durchgehen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "durchdrehen" and "durchgehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "durchdrehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "durchgehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,424,963 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "durchdrehen" and "durchgehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "durchdrehen vs durchstehen". 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 #1,424,963 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.