tautvstrügtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,293
“taut” frequency rank
#42,877
“trügt” frequency rank
92170
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature taut trügt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tauen 2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tragen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set taut and trügt apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
taut
5 ch
trügt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. taut ([taʊ̯t]) and trügt ([tʁyːkt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

taut is recorded at frequency rank #49,293, classified as averb, pronounced [taʊ̯t]. trügt is at rank #42,877, tagged as averb, pronounced [tʁyːkt].

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 92170, this pair ranks #31,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of taut vs trügt

Shared letters: t. Private to "taut": au. Private to "trügt": grü.

"taut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "trügt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tautatut · tatu · tautt · ttaut · tuat

Frequency comparison

taut#49,293
trügt#42,877

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "taut" and "trügt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([taʊ̯t] versus [tʁyːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "taut" or "trügt"?
"trügt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,877 in our German list, against #49,293 for "taut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering taut vs trügt

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 “taut” 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