deckenvsdeutenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,187
“decken” frequency rank
#8,190
“deuten” frequency rank
12377
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decken deuten
Definition (Dach) mit der wasserabweisenden Außenschicht versehen auf ein Objekt weisen; hinweisen, zeigen

Where the eye mixes decken and deuten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. decken (CVCCVC) and deuten (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
decken
6 ch
deuten

Visual trap between decken and deuten

A purely visual mix-up. decken ([ˈdɛkn̩]) and deuten ([ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩]) 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 12377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decken is recorded at frequency rank #4,187, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛkn̩]. deuten is at rank #8,190, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩].

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 12377, this pair ranks #1,964,524 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decken vs deuten

Shared letters: den. Private to "decken": ck. Private to "deuten": tu.

"decken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "deuten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decken ← dceken · ddecken · deccken · decekn · deckenn · deckken · deckne · dekcen
  • deuten ← ddeuten · detuen · deuetn · deutenn · deutne · deutten · dueten · eduten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "decken" and "deuten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛkn̩] versus [ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decken" or "deuten"?
"decken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,187 in our German list, against #8,190 for "deuten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "deuten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,964,524 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decken" and "deuten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deuten vs deuteten". 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 #1,964,524 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