TrägernvstrauernWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Trägern is a noun, trauern is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Trägern” is a noun and “trauern” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,440
“Trägern” frequency rank
#16,300
“trauern” frequency rank
36740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Trägern trauern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Träger sich wegen eines Verlustes in gedrückter Stimmung, Verfassung befinden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Trägern and trauern apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Trägern
7 ch
trauern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Trägern is [ˈtʁɛːɡɐn] while trauern is [ˈtʁaʊ̯ɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Trägern is recorded at frequency rank #20,440, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʁɛːɡɐn]. trauern is at rank #16,300, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaʊ̯ɐn].

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 36740, this pair ranks #1,607,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Trägern vs trauern

Shared letters: enrt. Private to "Trägern": . Private to "trauern": au.

"Trägern" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC  ·  "trauern" · 7 letters · shape CCVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trauernrtauern · taruern · traeurn · trauenr · trauernn · trauerrn · trauren · trrauern

Frequency comparison

Trägern#20,440
trauern#16,300

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Trägern" and "trauern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Trägern" is a noun and "trauern" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Trägern" or "trauern"?
"trauern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,300 in our German list, against #20,440 for "Trägern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Trägern vs trauern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Trägern”; for a verb, it's “trauern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Trägern” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list