Which to use
“denke” and “done” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #475
- “denke” frequency rank
- #20,888
- “done” frequency rank
- 21363
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denke | done |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs denken | Partizip Perfekt (past participle) des Verbs do |
Where the eye mixes denke and done
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. denke runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against done's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: denke vs done
A purely visual mix-up. denke ([ˈdɛŋkə]) and done ([dʌn]) 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 21363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
denke is recorded at frequency rank #475, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkə]. done is at rank #20,888, tagged as averb, pronounced [dʌn].
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 21363, this pair ranks #1,887,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of denke vs done
Shared letters: den. Private to "denke": k. Private to "done": o.
"denke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "done" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "denke" and "done" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "denke" vs "done" - which ranks higher?
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 "denke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "done" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,887,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denke" and "done" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "done vs dörr". 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 #1,887,158 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.