DenkenvsDeppenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#501
“Denken” frequency rank
#14,040
“Deppen” frequency rank
14541
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Denken Deppen
Definition Einstellung zu etwas Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Depp

Where the eye mixes Denken and Deppen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Denken
6 ch
Deppen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Denken ([ˈdɛŋkn̩]) and Deppen ([ˈdɛpn̩]) 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 14541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Denken is recorded at frequency rank #501, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkn̩]. Deppen is at rank #14,040, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛpn̩].

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 14541, this pair ranks #1,950,479 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Denken vs Deppen

Shared letters: den. Private to "Denken": k. Private to "Deppen": p.

"Denken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Deppen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Denkenddenken · deknen · denekn · denkenn · denkken · denkne · dennken · dneken
  • Deppenddeppen · depen · depepn · deppenn · deppne · dpepen · edppen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Denken" and "Deppen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛŋkn̩] versus [ˈdɛpn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Denken" or "Deppen"?
"Denken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #501 in our German list, against #14,040 for "Deppen". 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 "Deppen". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Denken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Deppen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,479 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Denken" and "Deppen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Deppen vs deppert". 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