DurstvsdurstigConfusable pair

Quick tell: Durst is a noun, durstig is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Durst” is a noun and “durstig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,217
“Durst” frequency rank
#35,715
“durstig” frequency rank
46932
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Durst durstig
Definition (heftiges) Verlangen zu trinken Bedürfnis nach Flüssigkeit habend

Where the eye mixes Durst and durstig

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Durst
7 ch
durstig

Why the eye confuses Durst with durstig

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Durst is [dʊʁst] while durstig is [ˈdʊʁstɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Durst” sits inside “durstig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Durst is recorded at frequency rank #11,217, classified as anoun, pronounced [dʊʁst]. 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 46932, this pair ranks #1,302,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Durst vs durstig

Shared letters: drstu. Private to "Durst": -. Private to "durstig": gi.

"Durst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "durstig" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Durstddurst · drust · durrst · dursst · durstt · durts · dusrt · udrst
  • durstigddurstig · drustig · durrstig · dursitg · dursstig · durstgi · durstigg · dursttig

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Durst" and "durstig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Durst" is a noun and "durstig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Durst" or "durstig" show up more?
"Durst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,217 in our German list, against #35,715 for "durstig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Durst" 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 #1,302,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Durst" and "durstig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dürftig 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 #1,302,009 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list