VertrauenvsvortragenConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#1,405
“Vertrauen” frequency rank
#22,560
“vortragen” frequency rank
23965
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vertrauen vortragen
Definition Überzeugung von der Richtigkeit beziehungsweise Wahrheit einer Handlung oder eines anderen Menschen, die in der Regel ein gegenseitiges Verhältnis der Zuverlässigkeit bedingt ein künstlerisches Werk einem Publikum durch eigene Darbietung nahebringen

Where the eye mixes Vertrauen and vortragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Vertrauen (CVCCCVVVC) and vortragen (CVCCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
Vertrauen
9 ch
vortragen

Visual trap between Vertrauen and vortragen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vertrauen is [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯ən] while vortragen is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌtʁaːɡn̩]. 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 23965, 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]. vortragen is at rank #22,560, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌtʁaːɡn̩].

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 23965, this pair ranks #1,854,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vertrauen vs vortragen

Shared letters: aenrtv. Private to "Vertrauen": u. Private to "vortragen": go.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vertrauen ← evrtrauen · verrtauen · verrtrauen · vertaruen · vertraeun · vertrauenn · vertraune · vertrrauen
  • vortragen ← ovrtragen · vorrtagen · vorrtragen · vortargen · vortraegn · vortragenn · vortraggen · vortragne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Vertrauen" for "vortragen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vertrauen" is a noun and "vortragen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vertrauen" or "vortragen"?
"Vertrauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,405 in our German list, against #22,560 for "vortragen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Vertrauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vortragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,854,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vertrauen" and "vortragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vortragen vs vorzutragen". 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 #1,854,127 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