Which to use
“danke” is a particle and “Denken” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #212
- “danke” frequency rank
- #501
- “Denken” frequency rank
- 713
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | danke | Denken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wort, das man benutzt, um seinen Dank auszudrücken | Einstellung zu etwas |
Where the eye mixes danke and Denken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: danke vs Denken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: danke is [ˈdaŋkə] while Denken is [ˈdɛŋkn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
danke is recorded at frequency rank #212, classified as aparticle, pronounced [ˈdaŋkə]. Denken is at rank #501, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkn̩].
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 713, this pair ranks #2,005,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of danke vs Denken
Shared letters: dekn. Private to "danke": a. Private to "Denken": -.
"danke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Denken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "danke" for "Denken" ever safe?
Frequency check: "danke" vs "Denken" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "danke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Denken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,005,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "danke" and "Denken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "danke vs Düne". 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 #2,005,457 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.