Which to use
“turn” is a verb and “Turnus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,188
- “turn” frequency rank
- #44,300
- “Turnus” frequency rank
- 58488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | turn | Turnus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs turnen | regelmäßiger Rhythmus, regelmäßiger Wechsel, festgelegte Wiederkehr |
Where the eye mixes turn and Turnus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between turn and Turnus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: turn is [tʊʁn] while Turnus is [ˈtʊʁnʊs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “turn” sits inside “Turnus”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58488, 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]. Turnus is at rank #44,300, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʊʁnʊs].
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 58488, this pair ranks #860,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of turn vs Turnus
Shared letters: nrtu. Private to "turn": -. Private to "Turnus": s.
"turn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Turnus" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "turn" for "Turnus" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "turn" or "Turnus" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "turn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Turnus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #860,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "turn" and "Turnus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Turmes vs Turnus". 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 #860,813 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.