vertragenvsVertrauenTell them apart

Quick tell: vertragen is a verb, Vertrauen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vertragen” is a verb and “Vertrauen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,481
“vertragen” frequency rank
#1,405
“Vertrauen” frequency rank
10886
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vertragen Vertrauen
Definition eine unangenehme Situation oder etwas ohne körperlichen Schaden oder negative Gefühle mitmachen/aushalten können Überzeugung von der Richtigkeit beziehungsweise Wahrheit einer Handlung oder eines anderen Menschen, die in der Regel ein gegenseitiges Verhältnis der Zuverlässigkeit bedingt

Where the eye mixes vertragen and Vertrauen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
vertragen
9 ch
Vertrauen

Visual trap between vertragen and Vertrauen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vertragen is [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩] while Vertrauen is [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “vertragen” becomes u in “Vertrauen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10886, 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]. Vertrauen is at rank #1,405, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ən].

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 10886, this pair ranks #1,972,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vertragen vs Vertrauen

Shared letters: aenrtv. Private to "vertragen": g. Private to "Vertrauen": u.

"vertragen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "Vertrauen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertragenevrtragen · verrtagen · verrtragen · vertargen · vertraegn · vertragenn · vertraggen · vertragne
  • Vertrauenevrtrauen · verrtauen · verrtrauen · vertaruen · vertraeun · vertrauenn · vertraune · vertrrauen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vertragen" and "Vertrauen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vertragen" is a verb and "Vertrauen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "vertragen" or "Vertrauen" show up more?
"Vertrauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,405 in our German list, against #9,481 for "vertragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "vertragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vertrauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,972,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vertragen" and "Vertrauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verjagen vs vertragen". 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 #1,972,815 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