DenkenvsDenkensWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#501
“Denken” frequency rank
#16,958
“Denkens” frequency rank
17459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Denken Denkens
Definition Einstellung zu etwas Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Denken

Where the eye mixes Denken and Denkens

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Denken runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Denkens's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Denken
7 ch
Denkens

Visual trap between Denken and Denkens

A purely visual mix-up. Denken ([ˈdɛŋkn̩]) and Denkens ([ˈdɛŋkn̩s]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Denken” sits inside “Denkens”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Denken is recorded at frequency rank #501, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkn̩]. Denkens is at rank #16,958, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkn̩s].

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 17459, this pair ranks #1,927,209 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Denken vs Denkens

Shared letters: dekn. Private to "Denken": -. Private to "Denkens": s.

"Denken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Denkens" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Denkenddenken · deknen · denekn · denkenn · denkken · denkne · dennken · dneken
  • Denkensddenkens · deknens · denekns · denkenns · denkenss · denkesn · denkkens · denknes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Denken" and "Denkens" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛŋkn̩] versus [ˈdɛŋkn̩s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Denken" vs "Denkens" - which ranks higher?
"Denken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #501 in our German list, against #16,958 for "Denkens". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Denken" and "Denkens" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Denken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Denkens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,927,209 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Denken" and "Denkens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dankend vs Denkens". 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 #1,927,209 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