Which to use
“Dunkeln” is a noun and “dunklen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,456
- “Dunkeln” frequency rank
- #4,111
- “dunklen” frequency rank
- 11567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dunkeln | dunklen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Substantivs Dunkles | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dunkel |
Where the eye mixes Dunkeln and dunklen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Dunkeln with dunklen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dunkeln is [ˈdʊŋkl̩n] while dunklen is [ˈdʊŋklən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (el ↔ le) - a transposition the eye reads straight past, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Dunkeln is recorded at frequency rank #7,456, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdʊŋkl̩n]. 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 11567, this pair ranks #1,969,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Dunkeln vs dunklen
Shared letters: deklnu. Private to "Dunkeln": -. Private to "dunklen": -.
"Dunkeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "dunklen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Dunkeln" and "dunklen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Dunkeln" or "dunklen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Dunkeln" 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 #1,969,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Dunkeln" and "dunklen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dunklen vs dunkleren". 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 #1,969,176 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.