denkvsdinaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,707
“denk” frequency rank
#36,881
“dina” frequency rank
39588
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature denk dina
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs denken 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dinar

Where the eye mixes denk and dina

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. denk (CVCC) and dina (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
denk
4 ch
dina

Why the eye confuses denk with dina

A purely visual mix-up. denk ([dɛŋk]) and dina ([ˈdinə]) 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 39588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

denk is recorded at frequency rank #2,707, classified as averb, pronounced [dɛŋk]. dina is at rank #36,881, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdinə].

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 39588, this pair ranks #1,532,581 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of denk vs dina

Shared letters: dn. Private to "denk": ek. Private to "dina": ai.

"denk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "dina" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • denk ← ddenk · dekn · denkk · dennk · dnek · ednk
  • dina ← ddina · dian · dinna · dnia · idna

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "denk" for "dina" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([dɛŋk] versus [ˈdinə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "denk" or "dina"?
"denk" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,707 in our German list, against #36,881 for "dina". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "denk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,532,581 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "denk" and "dina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "diet vs dina". 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 #1,532,581 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