Which to use
“trockene” is an adjective and “trocknen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,550
- “trockene” frequency rank
- #11,134
- “trocknen” frequency rank
- 22684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trockene | trocknen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs trocken | etwas, das nass ist, trocken machen; Feuchtigkeit entziehen |
Where the eye mixes trockene and trocknen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. trockene (CCVCCVCV) and trocknen (CCVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between trockene and trocknen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: trockene is [ˈtʁɔkənə] while trocknen is [ˈtʁɔknən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trockene is recorded at frequency rank #11,550, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtʁɔkənə]. trocknen is at rank #11,134, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɔknən].
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 22684, this pair ranks #1,871,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trockene vs trocknen
Shared letters: ceknort. Private to "trockene": -. Private to "trocknen": -.
"trockene" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV · "trocknen" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "trockene" and "trocknen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "trockene" or "trocknen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "trockene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trocknen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,871,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trockene" and "trocknen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trocknen vs Trocknung". 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 #1,871,052 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.