Which to use
“dürfen” and “durfte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #517
- “dürfen” frequency rank
- #2,200
- “durfte” frequency rank
- 2717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dürfen | durfte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Erlaubnis haben, etwas zu tun | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs dürfen |
Where the eye mixes dürfen and durfte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dürfen and durfte
A purely visual mix-up. dürfen ([ˈdʏʁfn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dürfen is recorded at frequency rank #517, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʏʁfn̩]. 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 2717, this pair ranks #2,001,742 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dürfen vs durfte
Shared letters: defr. Private to "dürfen": nü. Private to "durfte": tu.
"dürfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "durfte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- durfte ← ddurfte · drufte · dufrte · durfet · durffte · durftte · durrfte · durtfe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dürfen" and "durfte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dürfen" or "durfte"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dürfen" 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 #2,001,742 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dürfen" and "durfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "durfte vs dürftest". 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 #2,001,742 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.