trocknenvstrocknetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“trocknen” and “trocknet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,134
“trocknen” frequency rank
#26,652
“trocknet” frequency rank
37786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trocknen trocknet
Definition etwas, das nass ist, trocken machen; Feuchtigkeit entziehen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs trocknen

Where the eye mixes trocknen and trocknet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. trocknen and trocknet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
trocknen
8 ch
trocknet

Why the eye confuses trocknen with trocknet

A purely visual mix-up. trocknen ([ˈtʁɔknən]) and trocknet ([ˈtʁɔknət]) 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 a single letter - n in “trocknen” becomes t in “trocknet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trocknen is recorded at frequency rank #11,134, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɔknən]. trocknet is at rank #26,652, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɔknət].

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 37786, this pair ranks #1,581,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trocknen vs trocknet

Shared letters: ceknort. Private to "trocknen": -. Private to "trocknet": -.

"trocknen" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC  ·  "trocknet" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trocknen ← rtocknen · torcknen · trcoknen · troccknen · trockknen · trocknenn · trocknne · trocknnen
  • trocknet ← rtocknet · torcknet · trcoknet · troccknet · trockent · trockknet · trocknett · trocknnet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "trocknen" for "trocknet" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtʁɔknən] versus [ˈtʁɔknət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "trocknen" vs "trocknet" - which ranks higher?
"trocknen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,134 in our German list, against #26,652 for "trocknet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "trocknen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trocknet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,581,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trocknen" and "trocknet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trockenem vs trocknet". 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 #1,581,085 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list