Which to use
“dürftig” and “durstig” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,613
- “dürftig” frequency rank
- #35,715
- “durstig” frequency rank
- 64328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dürftig | durstig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | materielle Armut bezeugend, ärmlich, karg | Bedürfnis nach Flüssigkeit habend |
Where the eye mixes dürftig and durstig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dürftig vs durstig
A purely visual mix-up. dürftig ([ˈdʏʁftɪç]) and durstig ([ˈdʊʁstɪç]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dürftig is recorded at frequency rank #28,613, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʏʁftɪç]. durstig is at rank #35,715, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊʁstɪç].
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 64328, this pair ranks #645,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dürftig vs durstig
Shared letters: dgirt. Private to "dürftig": fü. Private to "durstig": su.
"dürftig" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "durstig" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- durstig ← ddurstig · drustig · durrstig · dursitg · dursstig · durstgi · durstigg · dursttig
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dürftig" and "durstig" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "dürftig" or "durstig" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dürftig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "durstig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #645,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dürftig" and "durstig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Durst vs durstig". 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 #645,427 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.