Which to use
“tragen” is a verb and “tragende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #786
- “tragen” frequency rank
- #18,406
- “tragende” frequency rank
- 19192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tragen | tragende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit den Armen oder auf dem Rücken von einem Ort zu einem anderen Ort transportieren | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tragend |
Where the eye mixes tragen and tragende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tragen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against tragende's 8 (CCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tragen with tragende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tragen is [ˈtʁaːɡn̩] while tragende is [ˈtʁaːɡn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “tragen” sits inside “tragende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19192, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tragen is recorded at frequency rank #786, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaːɡn̩]. tragende is at rank #18,406, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtʁaːɡn̩də].
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 19192, this pair ranks #1,910,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tragen vs tragende
Shared letters: aegnrt. Private to "tragen": -. Private to "tragende": d.
"tragen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "tragende" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tragen" and "tragende" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tragen" or "tragende"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tragende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,910,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tragen" and "tragende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tragende vs trauernde". 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 #1,910,893 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.