dingenvsdünnenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dingen is a verb, dünnen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#2,643
“dingen” frequency rank
#11,414
“dünnen” frequency rank
14057
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dingen dünnen
Definition jemanden anwerben, jemanden gegen Lohn eine Aufgabe erledigen lassen (heute vor allem im Zusammenhang mit kriminellen Machenschaften benutzt) Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dünn

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
dingen
6 ch
dünnen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dingen is [ˈdɪŋən] while dünnen is [ˈdʏnən]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dingen is recorded at frequency rank #2,643, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɪŋən]. dünnen is at rank #11,414, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʏnən].

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 14057, this pair ranks #1,953,858 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dingen vs dünnen

Shared letters: den. Private to "dingen": gi. Private to "dünnen": ü.

"dingen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "dünnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dingenddingen · dignen · dinegn · dingenn · dinggen · dingne · dinngen · dnigen

Frequency comparison

dingen#2,643
dünnen#11,414

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dingen" and "dünnen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dingen" is a verb and "dünnen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dingen" or "dünnen"?
"dingen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,643 in our German list, against #11,414 for "dünnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dingen vs dünnen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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