dankevsdareWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: danke is a particle, dare is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“danke” is a particle and “dare” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#212
“danke” frequency rank
#44,517
“dare” frequency rank
44729
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature danke dare
Definition Wort, das man benutzt, um seinen Dank auszudrücken es wagen, zu (+Infinitiv); den Mut haben, zu (+Infinitiv)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set danke and dare apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
danke
4 ch
dare

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

danke and dare form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44729, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

danke is recorded at frequency rank #212, classified as aparticle, pronounced [ˈdaŋkə]. dare is at rank #44,517, tagged as averb, pronounced [deə(ɹ)].

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 44729, this pair ranks #1,376,643 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

danke#212
dare#44,517

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "danke" and "dare" be used interchangeably?
No, "danke" and "dare" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering danke vs dare

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a particle, it's “danke”; for a verb, it's “dare”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “danke” 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