DackelvsDinkelTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,580
“Dackel” frequency rank
#40,475
“Dinkel” frequency rank
75055
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dackel Dinkel
Definition kleiner Hund, der traditionell zur Jagd eingesetzt wird Getreideart, die auch in rauen Lagen und auf „armen“ Böden wächst

Where the eye mixes Dackel and Dinkel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Dackel and Dinkel follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Dackel
6 ch
Dinkel

Why the eye confuses Dackel with Dinkel

A purely visual mix-up. Dackel ([ˈdakl̩]) and Dinkel ([ˈdɪŋkl̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dackel is recorded at frequency rank #34,580, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdakl̩]. Dinkel is at rank #40,475, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɪŋkl̩].

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 75055, this pair ranks #317,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Dackel vs Dinkel

Shared letters: dekl. Private to "Dackel": ac. Private to "Dinkel": in.

"Dackel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Dinkel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dackel ← adckel · dacckel · dacekl · dackell · dackkel · dackle · dakcel · dcakel
  • Dinkel ← ddinkel · diknel · dinekl · dinkell · dinkkel · dinkle · dinnkel · dnikel

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Dackel" and "Dinkel" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdakl̩] versus [ˈdɪŋkl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Dackel" or "Dinkel" show up more?
"Dackel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,580 in our German list, against #40,475 for "Dinkel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dackel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dinkel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #317,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dackel" and "Dinkel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dinkel vs donkey". 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 #317,588 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