dickemvsdickenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dickem is a adjective, dicken is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dickem” is an adjective and “dicken” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,285
“dickem” frequency rank
#4,416
“dicken” frequency rank
43701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dickem dicken
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dick durch Zugabe von Geliermittel, Mehl oder Ähnlichem etwas Flüssiges (besonders Speisen) dickflüssiger, zähflüssiger, fester machen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dickem and dicken apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
dickem
6 ch
dicken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dickem is [ˈdɪkəm] while dicken is [ˈdɪkn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - m in “dickem” becomes n in “dicken”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dickem is recorded at frequency rank #39,285, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɪkəm]. dicken is at rank #4,416, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɪkn̩].

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 43701, this pair ranks #1,409,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dickem vs dicken

Shared letters: cdeik. Private to "dickem": m. Private to "dicken": n.

"dickem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "dicken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dickemdcikem · ddickem · dicckem · dicekm · dickemm · dickkem · dickme · dikcem
  • dickendciken · ddicken · diccken · dicekn · dickenn · dickken · dickne · dikcen

Frequency comparison

dickem#39,285
dicken#4,416

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dickem" and "dicken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dickem" is an adjective and "dicken" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dickem" or "dicken"?
"dicken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,416 in our German list, against #39,285 for "dickem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dickem vs dicken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dickem”; for a verb, it's “dicken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dickem” 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