Which to use
“dicken” and “dingen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,416
- “dicken” frequency rank
- #2,643
- “dingen” frequency rank
- 7059
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dicken | dingen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch Zugabe von Geliermittel, Mehl oder Ähnlichem etwas Flüssiges (besonders Speisen) dickflüssiger, zähflüssiger, fester machen | jemanden anwerben, jemanden gegen Lohn eine Aufgabe erledigen lassen (heute vor allem im Zusammenhang mit kriminellen Machenschaften benutzt) |
Where the eye mixes dicken and dingen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dicken with dingen
A purely visual mix-up. dicken ([ˈdɪkn̩]) and dingen ([ˈdɪŋən]) 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 7059, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dicken is recorded at frequency rank #4,416, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɪkn̩]. dingen is at rank #2,643, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɪŋən].
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 7059, this pair ranks #1,989,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dicken vs dingen
Shared letters: dein. Private to "dicken": ck. Private to "dingen": g.
"dicken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "dingen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dicken" and "dingen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dicken" vs "dingen" - 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 "dicken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dingen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dicken" and "dingen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deckten vs dicken". 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 #1,989,521 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.