Which to use
“trennen” and “trinken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,779
- “trennen” frequency rank
- #1,492
- “trinken” frequency rank
- 5271
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trennen | trinken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personen oder Sachen auseinanderbringen | orale Aufnahme einer Flüssigkeit |
Where the eye mixes trennen and trinken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between trennen and trinken
A purely visual mix-up. trennen ([ˈtʁɛnən]) and trinken ([ˈtʁɪŋkn̩]) 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 5271, 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]. trinken is at rank #1,492, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɪŋkn̩].
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 5271, this pair ranks #1,995,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trennen vs trinken
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "trennen": -. Private to "trinken": ik.
"trennen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "trinken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "trennen" and "trinken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "trennen" or "trinken"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "trennen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,995,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trennen" and "trinken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tränke vs trinken". 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 #1,995,293 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.