decktenvsdickstenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deckten is a verb, dicksten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deckten” is a verb and “dicksten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,305
“deckten” frequency rank
#42,420
“dicksten” frequency rank
89725
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deckten dicksten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs decken Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs dick

Where the eye mixes deckten and dicksten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
deckten
8 ch
dicksten

Why the eye confuses deckten with dicksten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deckten is [ˈdɛktn̩] while dicksten is [ˈdɪkstn̩]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deckten is recorded at frequency rank #47,305, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛktn̩]. dicksten is at rank #42,420, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɪkstn̩].

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 89725, this pair ranks #54,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deckten vs dicksten

Shared letters: cdeknt. Private to "deckten": -. Private to "dicksten": is.

"deckten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "dicksten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decktendcekten · ddeckten · decckten · decketn · deckkten · decktenn · decktne · decktten
  • dickstendciksten · ddicksten · diccksten · dickksten · dicksetn · dickssten · dickstenn · dickstne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "deckten" and "dicksten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deckten" is a verb and "dicksten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deckten" or "dicksten"?
"dicksten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,420 in our German list, against #47,305 for "deckten". 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 "deckten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dicksten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #54,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deckten" and "dicksten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deckten vs drückten". 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 #54,247 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