trübvstrübeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,672
“trüb” frequency rank
#34,407
“trübe” frequency rank
71079
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trüb trübe
Definition unklar, nicht transparent, stark undurchsichtig, fast nicht mehr durchsichtig Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs trüb

Where the eye mixes trüb and trübe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. trüb runs 4 letters (CCVC) against trübe's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
trüb
5 ch
trübe

Look-alike desk: trüb vs trübe

A purely visual mix-up. trüb ([tʁyːp]) and trübe ([ˈtʁyːbə]) 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) - “trüb” sits inside “trübe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trüb is recorded at frequency rank #36,672, classified as anadj, pronounced [tʁyːp]. trübe is at rank #34,407, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtʁyːbə].

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 71079, this pair ranks #427,394 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of trüb vs trübe

Shared letters: brtü. Private to "trüb": -. Private to "trübe": e.

"trüb" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "trübe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "trüb" and "trübe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([tʁyːp] versus [ˈtʁyːbə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "trüb" or "trübe"?
"trübe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,407 in our German list, against #36,672 for "trüb". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "trüb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trübe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #427,394 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trüb" and "trübe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taut vs trüb". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #427,394 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