Which to use
“Tränen” is a noun and “tranken” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,690
- “Tränen” frequency rank
- #28,425
- “tranken” frequency rank
- 32115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Tränen | tranken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Träne | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs trinken |
Where the eye mixes Tränen and tranken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Tränen vs tranken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tränen is [ˈtʁɛːnən] 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 32115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Tränen is recorded at frequency rank #3,690, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʁɛːnən]. 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 32115, this pair ranks #1,714,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Tränen vs tranken
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "Tränen": ä. Private to "tranken": ak.
"Tränen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "tranken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tranken ← rtanken · tarnken · traknen · tranekn · trankenn · trankken · trankne · trannken
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Tränen" and "tranken" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Tränen" vs "tranken" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Tränen" and "tranken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Tränen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tranken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,714,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Tränen" and "tranken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tränke vs tranken". 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 #1,714,399 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.