pushenvspustenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pushen” and “pusten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,011
“pushen” frequency rank
#35,395
“pusten” frequency rank
62406
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pushen pusten
Definition jemanden oder etwas in eine (unverdient) hohe Position bringen durch plötzliches heftiges Ausatmen einen starken Luftstrom erzeugen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pushen and pusten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pushen
6 ch
pusten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pushen ([ˈpʊʃn̩]) and pusten ([ˈpuːstn̩]) 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 a single letter - h in “pushen” becomes t in “pusten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pushen is recorded at frequency rank #27,011, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpʊʃn̩]. pusten is at rank #35,395, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpuːstn̩].

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 62406, this pair ranks #714,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pushen vs pusten

Shared letters: enpsu. Private to "pushen": h. Private to "pusten": t.

"pushen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "pusten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pushenppushen · psuhen · puhsen · pusehn · pushenn · pushhen · pushne · pusshen
  • pustenppusten · psuten · pusetn · pussten · pustenn · pustne · pustten · putsen

Frequency comparison

pushen#27,011
pusten#35,395

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pushen" and "pusten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpʊʃn̩] versus [ˈpuːstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pushen" or "pusten"?
"pushen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,011 in our German list, against #35,395 for "pusten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pushen vs pusten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pushen” 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