teurenvstuenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: teuren is a adjective, tuen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“teuren” is an adjective and “tuen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,638
“teuren” frequency rank
#32,318
“tuen” frequency rank
40956
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teuren tuen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs teuer 1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tun

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
teuren
4 ch
tuen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: teuren is [ˈtɔɪ̯ʁən] while tuen is [ˈtuːən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40956, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

teuren is recorded at frequency rank #8,638, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtɔɪ̯ʁən]. tuen is at rank #32,318, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtuːən].

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 40956, this pair ranks #1,493,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of teuren vs tuen

Shared letters: entu. Private to "teuren": r. Private to "tuen": -.

"teuren" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "tuen" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • teureneturen · teruen · teuern · teurenn · teurne · teurren · tteuren · tueren
  • tuenteun · ttuen · tuenn · tune · uten

Frequency comparison

teuren#8,638
tuen#32,318

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "teuren" and "tuen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "teuren" is an adjective and "tuen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "teuren" or "tuen"?
"teuren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,638 in our German list, against #32,318 for "tuen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering teuren vs tuen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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