DeckevsDenkenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,513
“Decke” frequency rank
#501
“Denken” frequency rank
4014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Decke Denken
Definition geschlossene Oberfläche Einstellung zu etwas

Where the eye mixes Decke and Denken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Decke
6 ch
Denken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Decke ([ˈdɛkə]) and Denken ([ˈdɛŋkn̩]) 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 4014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Decke is recorded at frequency rank #3,513, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛkə]. 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 4014, this pair ranks #1,998,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Decke vs Denken

Shared letters: dek. Private to "Decke": c. Private to "Denken": n.

"Decke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Denken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Deckedceke · ddecke · deccke · decek · deckke · dekce · edcke
  • Denkenddenken · deknen · denekn · denkenn · denkken · denkne · dennken · dneken

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Decke" and "Denken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛkə] versus [ˈdɛŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Decke" or "Denken"?
"Denken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #501 in our German list, against #3,513 for "Decke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Decke" and "Denken". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Decke" 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 #1,998,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Decke" and "Denken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Decke vs Docks". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list