Which to use
“dürfe” and “durfte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,900
- “dürfe” frequency rank
- #2,200
- “durfte” frequency rank
- 10100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dürfe | durfte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dürfen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs dürfen |
Where the eye mixes dürfe and durfte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dürfe vs durfte
A purely visual mix-up. dürfe ([ˈdʏʁfə]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dürfe is recorded at frequency rank #7,900, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʏʁfə]. 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 10100, this pair ranks #1,976,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dürfe vs durfte
Shared letters: defr. Private to "dürfe": ü. Private to "durfte": tu.
"dürfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "durfte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- durfte ← ddurfte · drufte · dufrte · durfet · durffte · durftte · durrfte · durtfe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dürfe" for "durfte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dürfe" vs "durfte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dürfe" 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 #1,976,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dürfe" and "durfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "duran vs dürfe". 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 #1,976,804 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.