DenkenvsDenkerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#501
“Denken” frequency rank
#14,039
“Denker” frequency rank
14540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Denken Denker
Definition Einstellung zu etwas Person, die durch ihr philosophisches Denken bekannt geworden ist; ein denkender Mensch

Where the eye mixes Denken and Denker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Denken
6 ch
Denker

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Denken ([ˈdɛŋkn̩]) and Denker ([ˈdɛŋkɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “Denken” becomes r in “Denker”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Denken is recorded at frequency rank #501, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkn̩]. Denker is at rank #14,039, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkɐ].

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 14540, this pair ranks #1,950,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Denken vs Denker

Shared letters: dekn. Private to "Denken": -. Private to "Denker": r.

"Denken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Denker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Denkenddenken · deknen · denekn · denkenn · denkken · denkne · dennken · dneken
  • Denkerddenker · dekner · denekr · denkerr · denkker · denkre · dennker · dneker

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Denken" and "Denker" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛŋkn̩] versus [ˈdɛŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Denken" or "Denker"?
"Denken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #501 in our German list, against #14,039 for "Denker". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "Denken" and "Denker". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Denken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Denker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Denken" and "Denker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Denker vs donkey". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list