TränevstrinkWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Träne and trink apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Träne
5 ch
trink

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": . Private to "trink": ik.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trinkrtink · tirnk · trikn · trinkk · trinnk · trnik · trrink · ttrink

Frequency comparison

Träne#21,803
trink#10,759

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

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.
Which is more common, "Träne" or "trink"?
"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.

Remembering Träne vs trink

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Träne”; for a verb, it's “trink”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Träne” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list