TränevstrinkConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#21,803
“Träne” frequency rank
#10,759
“trink” frequency rank
32562
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Träne trink
Definition salziger Tropfen, den das Auge beim Weinen vergießt 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs trinken

Where the eye mixes Träne and trink

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Träne (CCVCV) and trink (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Träne
5 ch
trink

Why the eye confuses Träne with trink

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Träne is [ˈtʁɛːnə] while trink is [tʁɪŋk]. 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 32562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Träne is recorded at frequency rank #21,803, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʁɛːnə]. trink is at rank #10,759, tagged as averb, pronounced [tʁɪŋk].

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 32562, this pair ranks #1,705,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Träne vs trink

Shared letters: nrt. Private to "Träne": eä. Private to "trink": ik.

"Träne" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "trink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trink ← rtink · tirnk · trikn · trinkk · trinnk · trnik · trrink · ttrink

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Träne" and "trink" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Träne" is a noun and "trink" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Träne" vs "trink" - which ranks higher?
"trink" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,759 in our German list, against #21,803 for "Träne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Träne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trink" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,705,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Träne" and "trink" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs Träne". 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 #1,705,015 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