Which to use
“tragen” and “trügen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #786
- “tragen” frequency rank
- #48,553
- “trügen” frequency rank
- 49339
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tragen | trügen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit den Armen oder auf dem Rücken von einem Ort zu einem anderen Ort transportieren | etwas Unzutreffendes vortäuschen |
Where the eye mixes tragen and trügen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tragen and trügen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between tragen and trügen
A purely visual mix-up. tragen ([ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and trügen ([ˈtʁyːɡn̩]) 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 a single letter - a in “tragen” becomes ü in “trügen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49339, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tragen is recorded at frequency rank #786, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaːɡn̩]. trügen is at rank #48,553, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁyːɡn̩].
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 49339, this pair ranks #1,215,226 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tragen vs trügen
Shared letters: egnrt. Private to "tragen": a. Private to "trügen": ü.
"tragen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "trügen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tragen ← rtagen · targen · traegn · tragenn · traggen · tragne · trgaen · trragen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tragen" for "trügen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tragen" vs "trügen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,215,226 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tragen" and "trügen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trügen vs trügt". 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 #1,215,226 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.