blickenvsblicktenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,068
“blicken” frequency rank
#39,251
“blickten” frequency rank
44319
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blicken blickten
Definition seinen Blick auf jemanden/etwas wenden und es bewusst wahrnehmen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs blicken

Where the eye mixes blicken and blickten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. blicken runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against blickten's 8 (CCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
blicken
8 ch
blickten

Why the eye confuses blicken with blickten

A purely visual mix-up. blicken ([ˈblɪkn̩]) and blickten ([ˈblɪktn̩]) 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 44319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blicken is recorded at frequency rank #5,068, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈblɪkn̩]. blickten is at rank #39,251, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈblɪktn̩].

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 44319, this pair ranks #1,390,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of blicken vs blickten

Shared letters: bceikln. Private to "blicken": -. Private to "blickten": t.

"blicken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "blickten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • blicken ← bblicken · bilcken · blciken · bliccken · blicekn · blickenn · blickken · blickne
  • blickten ← bblickten · bilckten · blcikten · blicckten · blicketn · blickkten · blicktenn · blicktne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "blicken" and "blickten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈblɪkn̩] versus [ˈblɪktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "blicken" or "blickten"?
"blicken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,068 in our German list, against #39,251 for "blickten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "blicken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "blickten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,390,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "blicken" and "blickten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beichten vs blickten". 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 #1,390,073 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