trübenvstrügenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,753
“trüben” frequency rank
#48,553
“trügen” frequency rank
69306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trüben trügen
Definition dunkel machen oder werden etwas Unzutreffendes vortäuschen

Where the eye mixes trüben and trügen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. trüben and trügen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
trüben
6 ch
trügen

Visual trap between trüben and trügen

A purely visual mix-up. trüben ([ˈtʁyːbn̩]) and trügen ([ˈtʁyːɡn̩]) 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 - b in “trüben” becomes g in “trügen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trüben is recorded at frequency rank #20,753, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁyːbn̩]. trügen is at rank #48,553, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁyːɡn̩].

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 69306, this pair ranks #480,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of trüben vs trügen

Shared letters: enrtü. Private to "trüben": b. Private to "trügen": g.

"trüben" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "trügen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "trüben" and "trügen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtʁyːbn̩] versus [ˈtʁyːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "trüben" vs "trügen" - which ranks higher?
"trüben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,753 in our German list, against #48,553 for "trügen". 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 "trüben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #480,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trüben" and "trügen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trügen vs trügt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #480,609 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