trägevsTrägersTell them apart

Quick tell: träge is a adjective, Trägers is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“träge” is an adjective and “Trägers” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,926
“träge” frequency rank
#37,252
“Trägers” frequency rank
60178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature träge Trägers
Definition ohne inneren Antrieb Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Träger

Where the eye mixes träge and Trägers

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. träge runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against Trägers's 7 (CCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
träge
7 ch
Trägers

Visual trap between träge and Trägers

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: träge is [ˈtʁɛːɡə] while Trägers is [ˈtʁɛːɡɐs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “träge” sits inside “Trägers”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

träge is recorded at frequency rank #22,926, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtʁɛːɡə]. Trägers is at rank #37,252, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʁɛːɡɐs].

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 60178, this pair ranks #796,655 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of träge vs Trägers

Shared letters: egrtä. Private to "träge": -. Private to "Trägers": s.

"träge" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Trägers" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "träge" for "Trägers" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "träge" is an adjective and "Trägers" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "träge" vs "Trägers" - which ranks higher?
"träge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,926 in our German list, against #37,252 for "Trägers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "träge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Trägers" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #796,655 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "träge" and "Trägers" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trader vs Trägers". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #796,655 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list