darf
[daʁf]
The verdict
“darf” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #293 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #293
- frequency rank, German
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dürfen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | darf |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [daʁf] |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #293 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “darf” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for darf is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [daʁf]. Corpus data places it at rank #293 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for darf, with forms such as "adrf", "dafr", and "darff". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "der", "das", "DDR", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is darf, spelled D-A-R-F.
Definition
- 11. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dürfen
- 23. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dürfen
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: adrf,dafr,darff,darrf,ddarf,draf
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of darf - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "darf"?
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Using “darf”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is D-A-R-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [daʁf] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “der” - see the side-by-side comparison. darf vs der
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.