checkenvschickenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#11,025
“checken” frequency rank
#17,550
“chicken” frequency rank
28575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature checken chicken
Definition neudeutsch, überprüfen Huhn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set checken and chicken apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
checken
7 ch
chicken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: checken is [ˈt͡ʃɛkn̩] while chicken is [ˈtʃɪkɪn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “checken” becomes i in “chicken”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

checken is recorded at frequency rank #11,025, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃɛkn̩]. chicken is at rank #17,550, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʃɪkɪn].

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 28575, this pair ranks #1,782,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of checken vs chicken

Shared letters: cehkn. Private to "checken": -. Private to "chicken": i.

"checken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "chicken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • checkencchecken · cehcken · chceken · checcken · checekn · checkenn · checkken · checkne
  • chickencchicken · chciken · chhicken · chiccken · chicekn · chickenn · chickken · chickne

Frequency comparison

checken#11,025
chicken#17,550

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "checken" and "chicken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "checken" is a verb and "chicken" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "checken" or "chicken"?
"checken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,025 in our German list, against #17,550 for "chicken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering checken vs chicken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “checken”; for a noun, it's “chicken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “checken” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list