Which to use
“denen” is an unknown and “dünnen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #248
- “denen” frequency rank
- #11,414
- “dünnen” frequency rank
- 11662
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denen | dünnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Plural des Relativpronomens der | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dünn |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set denen and dünnen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: denen is [ˈdeːnən] while dünnen is [ˈdʏnən]. 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 (unknown vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11662, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
denen is recorded at frequency rank #248, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈdeːnən]. dünnen is at rank #11,414, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʏnən].
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 11662, this pair ranks #1,968,612 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of denen vs dünnen
Shared letters: den. Private to "denen": -. Private to "dünnen": ü.
"denen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "dünnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- denen ← ddenen · deenn · denenn · denne · dennen · dneen · ednen
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "denen" and "dünnen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "denen" or "dünnen"?
Remembering denen vs dünnen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “denen”; for an adjective, it's “dünnen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “denen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable