Which to use
“dunkel” is an adjective and “Dunkeln” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,030
- “dunkel” frequency rank
- #7,456
- “Dunkeln” frequency rank
- 10486
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dunkel | Dunkeln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne oder mit wenig Licht, lichtlos | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Substantivs Dunkles |
Where the eye mixes dunkel and Dunkeln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. dunkel runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Dunkeln's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: dunkel vs Dunkeln
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dunkel is [ˈdʊŋkl̩] while Dunkeln is [ˈdʊŋkl̩n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dunkel” sits inside “Dunkeln”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dunkel is recorded at frequency rank #3,030, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊŋkl̩]. Dunkeln is at rank #7,456, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdʊŋkl̩n].
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 10486, this pair ranks #1,974,884 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dunkel vs Dunkeln
Shared letters: deklnu. Private to "dunkel": -. Private to "Dunkeln": -.
"dunkel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Dunkeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dunkel" and "Dunkeln" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dunkel" vs "Dunkeln" - 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 "dunkel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Dunkeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,974,884 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dunkel" and "Dunkeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Düne vs dunkel". 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 #1,974,884 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.