Which to use
“denn” is a conjunction and “don” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #105
- “denn” frequency rank
- #3,645
- “don” frequency rank
- 3750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denn | don |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | leitet einen Hauptsatz ein, der den Grund für das, was vorher festgestellt wurde, liefert | Spende, Gabe |
Where the eye mixes denn and don
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: denn vs don
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: denn is [dɛn] while don is [dɔ̃]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
denn is recorded at frequency rank #105, classified as aconj, pronounced [dɛn]. don is at rank #3,645, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dɔ̃].
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 3750, this pair ranks #1,999,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of denn vs don
Shared letters: dn. Private to "denn": e. Private to "don": o.
"denn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "don" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- denn ← ddenn · dnen · ednn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "denn" for "don" ever safe?
Frequency check: "denn" vs "don" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "denn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "don" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,999,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denn" and "don" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "don 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 #1,999,458 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.