Which to use
“dunkel” and “dunklen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,030
- “dunkel” frequency rank
- #4,111
- “dunklen” frequency rank
- 7141
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dunkel | dunklen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne oder mit wenig Licht, lichtlos | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dunkel |
Where the eye mixes dunkel and dunklen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dunkel with dunklen
A purely visual mix-up. dunkel ([ˈdʊŋkl̩]) and dunklen ([ˈdʊŋklən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7141, 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]. dunklen is at rank #4,111, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊŋklən].
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 7141, this pair ranks #1,989,242 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dunkel vs dunklen
Shared letters: deklnu. Private to "dunkel": -. Private to "dunklen": -.
"dunkel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "dunklen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dunkel" and "dunklen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dunkel" vs "dunklen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "dunkel" and "dunklen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dunkel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dunklen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,242 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dunkel" and "dunklen" 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 #1,989,242 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.