Which to use
“turn” and “turnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,188
- “turn” frequency rank
- #17,433
- “turnen” frequency rank
- 31621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | turn | turnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs turnen | sportliche Übungen an/mit bestimmten Geräten ausüben |
Where the eye mixes turn and turnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: turn vs turnen
A purely visual mix-up. turn ([tʊʁn]) and turnen ([ˈtʊʁnən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “turn” sits inside “turnen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
turn is recorded at frequency rank #14,188, classified as averb, pronounced [tʊʁn]. turnen is at rank #17,433, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʊʁnən].
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 31621, this pair ranks #1,724,476 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of turn vs turnen
Shared letters: nrtu. Private to "turn": -. Private to "turnen": e.
"turn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "turnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "turn" and "turnen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "turn" or "turnen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "turn" and "turnen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "turn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "turnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,724,476 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "turn" and "turnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Turmes vs turnen". 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 #1,724,476 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.