denkvsdrinkTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,707
“denk” frequency rank
#14,042
“drink” frequency rank
16749
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature denk drink
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs denken Flüssigkeit zu sich nehmen

Where the eye mixes denk and drink

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
denk
5 ch
drink

Visual trap between denk and drink

A purely visual mix-up. denk ([dɛŋk]) and drink ([dɹɪŋk]) 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 16749, 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]. drink is at rank #14,042, tagged as averb, pronounced [dɹɪŋk].

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 16749, this pair ranks #1,933,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of denk vs drink

Shared letters: dkn. Private to "denk": e. Private to "drink": ir.

"denk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "drink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • denkddenk · dekn · denkk · dennk · dnek · ednk
  • drinkddrink · dirnk · drikn · drinkk · drinnk · drnik · drrink · rdink

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "denk" and "drink" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([dɛŋk] versus [dɹɪŋk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "denk" or "drink"?
"denk" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,707 in our German list, against #14,042 for "drink". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "drink" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,933,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "denk" and "drink" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "drink vs dying". 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 #1,933,282 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