dickenvsDinkelWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,416
“dicken” frequency rank
#40,475
“Dinkel” frequency rank
44891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dicken Dinkel
Definition durch Zugabe von Geliermittel, Mehl oder Ähnlichem etwas Flüssiges (besonders Speisen) dickflüssiger, zähflüssiger, fester machen Getreideart, die auch in rauen Lagen und auf „armen“ Böden wächst

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
dicken
6 ch
Dinkel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dicken is [ˈdɪkn̩] while Dinkel is [ˈdɪŋkl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44891, 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]. 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 44891, this pair ranks #1,371,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dicken vs Dinkel

Shared letters: deikn. Private to "dicken": c. Private to "Dinkel": l.

"dicken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Dinkel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dickendciken · ddicken · diccken · dicekn · dickenn · dickken · dickne · dikcen
  • Dinkelddinkel · diknel · dinekl · dinkell · dinkkel · dinkle · dinnkel · dnikel

Frequency comparison

dicken#4,416
Dinkel#40,475

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dicken" and "Dinkel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dicken" is a verb and "Dinkel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dicken" or "Dinkel"?
"dicken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,416 in our German list, against #40,475 for "Dinkel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dicken vs Dinkel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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