vertrauvsvertraueConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#32,840
“vertrau” frequency rank
#14,203
“vertraue” frequency rank
47043
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vertrau vertraue
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vertrauen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vertrauen

Where the eye mixes vertrau and vertraue

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

7 ch
vertrau
8 ch
vertraue

Why the eye confuses vertrau with vertraue

A purely visual mix-up. vertrau ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯]) 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 extra letter(s) - “vertrau” sits inside “vertraue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vertrau is recorded at frequency rank #32,840, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯]. 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 47043, this pair ranks #1,298,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vertrau vs vertraue

Shared letters: aertuv. Private to "vertrau": -. Private to "vertraue": -.

"vertrau" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV  ·  "vertraue" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertrau ← evrtrau · verrtau · verrtrau · vertaru · vertrrau · vertrua · verttrau · vetrrau
  • vertraue ← evrtraue · verrtaue · verrtraue · vertarue · vertraeu · vertrraue · vertruae · verttraue

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vertrau" and "vertraue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vertrau" vs "vertraue" - which ranks higher?
"vertraue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,203 in our German list, against #32,840 for "vertrau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "vertrau" and "vertraue" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vertrau" 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 #1,298,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vertrau" and "vertraue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vertrau 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 #1,298,166 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