BänkevsBankerWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,561
“Bänke” frequency rank
#16,920
“Banker” frequency rank
38481
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bänke Banker
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Bank Angehöriger der Bankenwirtschaft; Bankfachmann

Where the eye mixes Bänke and Banker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Bänke runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Banker's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Bänke
6 ch
Banker

Why the eye confuses Bänke with Banker

A purely visual mix-up. Bänke ([ˈbɛŋkə]) and Banker ([ˈbɛŋkɐ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bänke is recorded at frequency rank #21,561, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɛŋkə]. Banker is at rank #16,920, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɛŋkɐ].

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 38481, this pair ranks #1,562,840 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bänke vs Banker

Shared letters: bekn. Private to "Bänke": ä. Private to "Banker": ar.

"Bänke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Banker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Banker ← abnker · bakner · banekr · bankerr · bankker · bankre · bannker · bbanker

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Bänke" and "Banker" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɛŋkə] versus [ˈbɛŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Bänke" or "Banker" show up more?
"Banker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,920 in our German list, against #21,561 for "Bänke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bänke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Banker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,562,840 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bänke" and "Banker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bänke vs bonne". 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 #1,562,840 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