Which to use
“trace” and “tragen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,869
- “trace” frequency rank
- #786
- “tragen” frequency rank
- 43655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trace | tragen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zurückverfolgen, verfolgen | etwas mit den Armen oder auf dem Rücken von einem Ort zu einem anderen Ort transportieren |
Where the eye mixes trace and tragen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. trace runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against tragen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: trace vs tragen
A purely visual mix-up. trace ([treɪs]) and tragen ([ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 43655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trace is recorded at frequency rank #42,869, classified as averb, pronounced [treɪs]. tragen is at rank #786, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaːɡn̩].
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 43655, this pair ranks #1,411,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of trace vs tragen
Shared letters: aert. Private to "trace": c. Private to "tragen": gn.
"trace" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "tragen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "trace" for "tragen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "trace" or "tragen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "trace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,411,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trace" and "tragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trace vs tränke". 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 #1,411,151 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.