durftenvsDürrenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: durften is a verb, Dürren is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“durften” is a verb and “Dürren” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,603
“durften” frequency rank
#35,718
“Dürren” frequency rank
40321
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature durften Dürren
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs dürfen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Dürre

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set durften and Dürren apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
durften
6 ch
Dürren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: durften is [ˈdʊʁftn̩] while Dürren is [ˈdʏʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

durften is recorded at frequency rank #4,603, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊʁftn̩]. Dürren is at rank #35,718, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdʏʁən].

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 40321, this pair ranks #1,511,853 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of durften vs Dürren

Shared letters: denr. Private to "durften": ftu. Private to "Dürren": ü.

"durften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Dürren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • durftenddurften · druften · dufrten · durfetn · durfften · durftenn · durftne · durftten

Frequency comparison

durften#4,603
Dürren#35,718

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "durften" and "Dürren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "durften" is a verb and "Dürren" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "durften" or "Dürren"?
"durften" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,603 in our German list, against #35,718 for "Dürren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering durften vs Dürren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “durften”; for a noun, it's “Dürren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “durften” 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