dickevsDinkelWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dicke is a particle, Dinkel is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

“dicke” is a particle and “Dinkel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,029
“dicke” frequency rank
#40,475
“Dinkel” frequency rank
43504
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dicke Dinkel
Definition in reichlichem Maße, mehr als genügend; in hohem Maße Getreideart, die auch in rauen Lagen und auf „armen“ Böden wächst

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dicke and Dinkel apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dicke
6 ch
Dinkel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dicke is [ˈdɪkə] while Dinkel is [ˈdɪŋkl̩]. 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 (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dicke is recorded at frequency rank #3,029, classified as aparticle, pronounced [ˈdɪkə]. Dinkel is at rank #40,475, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɪŋkl̩].

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 43504, this pair ranks #1,415,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dicke vs Dinkel

Shared letters: deik. Private to "dicke": c. Private to "Dinkel": ln.

"dicke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Dinkel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dicke ← dcike · ddicke · diccke · dicek · dickke · dikce · idcke
  • Dinkel ← ddinkel · diknel · dinekl · dinkell · dinkkel · dinkle · dinnkel · dnikel

Frequency comparison

dicke#3,029
Dinkel#40,475

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dicke" and "Dinkel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dicke" is a particle and "Dinkel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dicke" or "Dinkel"?
"dicke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,029 in our German list, against #40,475 for "Dinkel". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dicke vs Dinkel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a particle, it's “dicke”; for a noun, it's “Dinkel”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dicke” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list