Which to use
“trennen” and “trennte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,779
- “trennen” frequency rank
- #17,431
- “trennte” frequency rank
- 21210
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trennen | trennte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personen oder Sachen auseinanderbringen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs trennen |
Where the eye mixes trennen and trennte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. trennen (CCVCCVC) and trennte (CCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between trennen and trennte
A purely visual mix-up. trennen ([ˈtʁɛnən]) and trennte ([ˈtʁɛntə]) 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 21210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trennen is recorded at frequency rank #3,779, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɛnən]. trennte is at rank #17,431, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɛntə].
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 21210, this pair ranks #1,888,953 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trennen vs trennte
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "trennen": -. Private to "trennte": -.
"trennen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "trennte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "trennen" and "trennte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "trennen" or "trennte"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "trennen" and "trennte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "trennen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trennte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,888,953 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trennen" and "trennte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trenne vs trennte". 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 #1,888,953 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.