true vs trügt, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“true” is an adjective and “trügt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,645
“true” frequency rank: #42,877
“trügt” frequency rank: 52522
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	true	trügt
Definition	wahr, richtig	2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tragen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set true and trügt apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

true

5 ch

trügt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: true is [tɹuː] while trügt is [tʁyːkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

true is recorded at frequency rank #9,645, classified as anadj, pronounced [tɹuː]. trügt is at rank #42,877, tagged as averb, pronounced [tʁyːkt].

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 52522, this pair ranks #1,093,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of true vs trügt

Shared letters: rt. Private to "true": eu. Private to "trügt": gü.

"true" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "trügt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

true ← rtue · trrue · ttrue · ture

Frequency comparison

true#9,645

trügt#42,877

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "true" and "trügt" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "true" is an adjective and "trügt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "true" or "trügt"?

"true" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,645 in our German list, against #42,877 for "trügt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering true vs trügt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “true”; for a verb, it's “trügt”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “true” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable