denkendevsdenkendenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,675
“denkende” frequency rank
#32,476
“denkenden” frequency rank
57151
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature denkende denkenden
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs denkend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs denkend

Where the eye mixes denkende and denkenden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. denkende runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against denkenden's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
denkende
9 ch
denkenden

Visual trap between denkende and denkenden

A purely visual mix-up. denkende ([ˈdɛŋkn̩də]) and denkenden ([ˈdɛŋkn̩dən]) 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) - “denkende” sits inside “denkenden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

denkende is recorded at frequency rank #24,675, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkn̩də]. denkenden is at rank #32,476, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkn̩dən].

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 57151, this pair ranks #912,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of denkende vs denkenden

Shared letters: dekn. Private to "denkende": -. Private to "denkenden": -.

"denkende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "denkenden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • denkendeddenkende · deknende · deneknde · denkedne · denkendde · denkened · denkennde · denkkende
  • denkendenddenkenden · deknenden · deneknden · denkednen · denkendden · denkendenn · denkendne · denkenedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "denkende" for "denkenden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛŋkn̩də] versus [ˈdɛŋkn̩dən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "denkende" or "denkenden"?
"denkende" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,675 in our German list, against #32,476 for "denkenden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "denkende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "denkenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #912,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "denkende" and "denkenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denkenden vs denkender". 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 #912,520 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