VertrauenvsvertraustWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,405
“Vertrauen” frequency rank
#41,553
“vertraust” frequency rank
42958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vertrauen vertraust
Definition Überzeugung von der Richtigkeit beziehungsweise Wahrheit einer Handlung oder eines anderen Menschen, die in der Regel ein gegenseitiges Verhältnis der Zuverlässigkeit bedingt 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vertrauen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Vertrauen and vertraust apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Vertrauen
9 ch
vertraust

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vertrauen is [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ən] while vertraust is [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯st]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vertrauen is recorded at frequency rank #1,405, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ən]. vertraust is at rank #41,553, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯st].

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 42958, this pair ranks #1,433,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Vertrauen vs vertraust

Shared letters: aertuv. Private to "Vertrauen": n. Private to "vertraust": s.

"Vertrauen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVVC  ·  "vertraust" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vertrauenevrtrauen · verrtauen · verrtrauen · vertaruen · vertraeun · vertrauenn · vertraune · vertrrauen
  • vertraustevrtraust · verrtaust · verrtraust · vertarust · vertrasut · vertrausst · vertraustt · vertrauts

Frequency comparison

Vertrauen#1,405
vertraust#41,553

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vertrauen" and "vertraust" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vertrauen" is a noun and "vertraust" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vertrauen" or "vertraust"?
"Vertrauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,405 in our German list, against #41,553 for "vertraust". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Vertrauen vs vertraust

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Vertrauen”; for a verb, it's “vertraust”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Vertrauen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list