Which to use
“trübe” is an adjective and “trunk” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,407
- “trübe” frequency rank
- #39,074
- “trunk” frequency rank
- 73481
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trübe | trunk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs trüb | aufrechtstehender Teil eines Baums zwischen den Wurzeln und den Ästen |
Where the eye mixes trübe and trunk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses trübe with trunk
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: trübe is [ˈtʁyːbə] while trunk is [tɹʌŋk]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trübe is recorded at frequency rank #34,407, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtʁyːbə]. trunk is at rank #39,074, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tɹʌŋk].
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 73481, this pair ranks #359,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of trübe vs trunk
Shared letters: rt. Private to "trübe": beü. Private to "trunk": knu.
"trübe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "trunk" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- trunk ← rtunk · trnuk · trrunk · trukn · trunkk · trunnk · ttrunk · turnk
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "trübe" for "trunk" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "trübe" or "trunk" show up more?
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 "trübe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trunk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trübe" and "trunk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tränke vs trunk". 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 #359,194 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.