Which to use
“tranken” and “trennen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,425
- “tranken” frequency rank
- #3,779
- “trennen” frequency rank
- 32204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tranken | trennen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs trinken | Personen oder Sachen auseinanderbringen |
Where the eye mixes tranken and trennen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tranken and trennen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between tranken and trennen
A purely visual mix-up. tranken ([ˈtʁaŋkn̩]) and trennen ([ˈtʁɛnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tranken is recorded at frequency rank #28,425, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaŋkn̩]. trennen is at rank #3,779, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɛnən].
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 32204, this pair ranks #1,712,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tranken vs trennen
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "tranken": ak. Private to "trennen": -.
"tranken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "trennen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tranken" for "trennen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tranken" vs "trennen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tranken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trennen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,712,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tranken" and "trennen" 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 #1,712,536 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.