Which to use
“trachten” is a verb and “trauten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,435
- “trachten” frequency rank
- #34,942
- “trauten” frequency rank
- 55377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trachten | trauten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas Bestimmtes zu erreichen versuchen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs traut |
Where the eye mixes trachten and trauten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. trachten runs 8 letters (CCVCCCVC) against trauten's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between trachten and trauten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: trachten is [ˈtʁaxtn̩] while trauten is [ˈtʁaʊ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trachten is recorded at frequency rank #20,435, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaxtn̩]. trauten is at rank #34,942, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtʁaʊ̯tn̩].
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 55377, this pair ranks #981,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of trachten vs trauten
Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "trachten": ch. Private to "trauten": u.
"trachten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC · "trauten" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "trachten" for "trauten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "trachten" or "trauten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "trachten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trauten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #981,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trachten" and "trauten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trauten vs trügen". 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 #981,923 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.