vertragenvsvertraueTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,481
“vertragen” frequency rank
#14,203
“vertraue” frequency rank
23684
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vertragen vertraue
Definition eine unangenehme Situation oder etwas ohne körperlichen Schaden oder negative Gefühle mitmachen/aushalten können 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vertrauen

Where the eye mixes vertragen and vertraue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vertragen runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVC) against vertraue's 8 (CVCCCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
vertragen
8 ch
vertraue

Why the eye confuses vertragen with vertraue

A purely visual mix-up. vertragen ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and vertraue ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vertragen is recorded at frequency rank #9,481, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]. vertraue is at rank #14,203, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ə].

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 23684, this pair ranks #1,857,984 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vertragen vs vertraue

Shared letters: aertv. Private to "vertragen": gn. Private to "vertraue": u.

"vertragen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "vertraue" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertragen ← evrtragen · verrtagen · verrtragen · vertargen · vertraegn · vertragenn · vertraggen · vertragne
  • vertraue ← evrtraue · verrtaue · verrtraue · vertarue · vertraeu · vertrraue · vertruae · verttraue

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vertragen" for "vertraue" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vertragen" vs "vertraue" - which ranks higher?
"vertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,481 in our German list, against #14,203 for "vertraue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vertragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertraue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,857,984 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vertragen" and "vertraue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vertraue vs vertraust". 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 #1,857,984 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