drehen

[ˈdʁeːən]

/[ˈdʁeːən]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“drehen” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #2,438. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,438
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - etwas um eine Achse bewegen

Corpus desk

Index DE-drehen · drehen · German

drehen · rank #2,438 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,438
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH dm

Nearest frequency peer: dm (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „drehen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „drehen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

drehen vs dreht
67% similar
drehen vs drohe
67% similar
drehen vs drein
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for drehen
PropertyValue
Headworddrehen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈdʁeːən]
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,438
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „drehen“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).drehenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „dm“ (#2,437), „Ehre“ (#2,439), „definitiv“ (#2,436). Unter 2,764 „D“-Lemmata liegt „drehen“ bei #2,438. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around drehen (IPA [ˈdʁeːən]), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,438 among 2,764 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for drehen, with forms such as "ddrehen", "derhen", and "dreehn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dreht", "drohe", "drein", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is drehen, spelled D-R-E-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas um eine Achse bewegen
  2. 2
    sich um eine Achse bewegen
  3. 3
    vom rotierenden Werkstück Späne abheben
  4. 4
    aus einzelnen Fäden durch festes Umeinanderschlingen herstellen
  5. 5
    Filmaufnahmen durchführen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how drehen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Wir müssen das Auto nur drehen, dann passt es schon in die Lücke.
  2. Der Kreisel dreht sich immer langsamer, bis er umkippt.

Synonyms

wendenrotierenabdrehenverdrillenschlagenaufnehmenfilmen

This word in other languages

turn(English)girar(Español)tourner(Français)girar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddrehen
  • derhen
  • dreehn
  • drehenn
  • drehhen
  • drehne
  • drheen
  • drrehen
  • rdehen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of drehen - 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.

ddrehen1derhen2dreehn2drehenn1drehhen1drehne2drheen2drrehen1
Edit distance from "drehen"

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 "drehen"?
"drehen" is spelled D-R-E-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈdʁeːən].
What does "drehen" mean?
As a verb, "drehen" means: etwas um eine Achse bewegen
What words are commonly confused with "drehen"?
"drehen" is commonly confused with "dreht", "drohe", "drein". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "drehen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drehen" is [ˈdʁeːən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "drehen" come from?
"drehen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "drehen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bewegt#2,430gratis#2,447kriegt#2,453Moskau#2,458

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

kümmern9 variantswitzig9 variantsWähler9 variantsanstatt9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list