Which to use
“dürfe” and “durften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,900
- “dürfe” frequency rank
- #4,603
- “durften” frequency rank
- 12503
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dürfe | durften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dürfen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs dürfen |
Where the eye mixes dürfe and durften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dürfe and durften
A purely visual mix-up. dürfe ([ˈdʏʁfə]) and durften ([ˈdʊʁftn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12503, 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]. durften is at rank #4,603, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊʁftn̩].
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 12503, this pair ranks #1,963,780 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dürfe vs durften
Shared letters: defr. Private to "dürfe": ü. Private to "durften": ntu.
"dürfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "durften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- durften ← ddurften · druften · dufrten · durfetn · durfften · durftenn · durftne · durftten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dürfe" and "durften" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dürfe" or "durften"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dürfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "durften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,963,780 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dürfe" and "durften" 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 #1,963,780 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.