Which to use
“töten” and “trotzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,083
- “töten” frequency rank
- #27,523
- “trotzen” frequency rank
- 30606
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | töten | trotzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einem Menschen oder einem Tier gewaltsam das Leben nehmen | sich einer Sache widersetzen, etwas die Stirn bieten, entgegentreten |
Where the eye mixes töten and trotzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. töten runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against trotzen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between töten and trotzen
A purely visual mix-up. töten ([ˈtøːtn̩]) and trotzen ([ˈtʁɔt͡sn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
töten is recorded at frequency rank #3,083, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtøːtn̩]. trotzen is at rank #27,523, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɔt͡sn̩].
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 30606, this pair ranks #1,744,543 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of töten vs trotzen
Shared letters: ent. Private to "töten": ö. Private to "trotzen": orz.
"töten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "trotzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- trotzen ← rtotzen · tortzen · trotezn · trottzen · trotzenn · trotzne · trotzzen · trozten
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "töten" and "trotzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "töten" or "trotzen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "töten" and "trotzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "töten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trotzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,744,543 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "töten" and "trotzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trotzen vs trotzt". 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 #1,744,543 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.