DungvsdünnWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Dung is a noun, dünn is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Dung” is a noun and “dünn” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,866
“Dung” frequency rank
#5,934
“dünn” frequency rank
51800
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dung dünn
Definition ein Gemisch von Fäkalien zum Fördern des Wachstums von (Nutz-)Pflanzen von geringer Dicke

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Dung and dünn apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Dung
4 ch
dünn

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dung is [dʊŋ] while dünn is [dʏn]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dung is recorded at frequency rank #45,866, classified as anoun, pronounced [dʊŋ]. dünn is at rank #5,934, tagged as anadj, pronounced [dʏn].

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 51800, this pair ranks #1,121,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Dung vs dünn

Shared letters: dn. Private to "Dung": gu. Private to "dünn": ü.

"Dung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "dünn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dungddung · dnug · dugn · dungg · dunng · udng

Frequency comparison

Dung#45,866
dünn#5,934

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Dung" and "dünn" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Dung" is a noun and "dünn" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Dung" or "dünn"?
"dünn" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,934 in our German list, against #45,866 for "Dung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Dung vs dünn

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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