TrancevstrankenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#24,153
“Trance” frequency rank
#28,425
“tranken” frequency rank
52578
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Trance tranken
Definition (durch Hypnose, Suggestion, Drogen, religiöser Ekstase oder dergleichen herbeigeführter) veränderter Bewusstseinszustand, der einhergeht mit einer Bewusstseinstrübung (Einschränkung der freien Willensbestimmung und einer ungenauen Wahrnehmung der Umwelt) und dem eines Dämmerzustands ähnelt 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs trinken

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Trance
7 ch
tranken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Trance is [tʁɑ̃ːs] while tranken is [ˈtʁaŋkn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Trance is recorded at frequency rank #24,153, classified as anoun, pronounced [tʁɑ̃ːs]. tranken is at rank #28,425, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaŋkn̩].

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 52578, this pair ranks #1,091,338 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Trance vs tranken

Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "Trance": c. Private to "tranken": k.

"Trance" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "tranken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Trancertance · tarnce · tracne · trancce · tranec · trannce · trnace · trrance
  • trankenrtanken · tarnken · traknen · tranekn · trankenn · trankken · trankne · trannken

Frequency comparison

Trance#24,153
tranken#28,425

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Trance" and "tranken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Trance" is a noun and "tranken" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Trance" or "tranken"?
"Trance" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,153 in our German list, against #28,425 for "tranken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Trance vs tranken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Trance”; for a verb, it's “tranken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Trance” 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