Which to use
“trau” and “traue” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,849
- “trau” frequency rank
- #10,379
- “traue” frequency rank
- 27228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trau | traue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs trauen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs trauen |
Where the eye mixes trau and traue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between trau and traue
A purely visual mix-up. trau ([tʁaʊ̯]) and traue ([ˈtʁaʊ̯ə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “trau” sits inside “traue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trau is recorded at frequency rank #16,849, classified as averb, pronounced [tʁaʊ̯]. traue is at rank #10,379, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁaʊ̯ə].
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 27228, this pair ranks #1,805,182 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trau vs traue
Shared letters: artu. Private to "trau": -. Private to "traue": e.
"trau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "traue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "trau" and "traue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "trau" vs "traue" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "trau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "traue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,805,182 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trau" and "traue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taut vs trau". 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 #1,805,182 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.