Which to use
“dunklen” and “dunkles” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,111
- “dunklen” frequency rank
- #17,263
- “dunkles” frequency rank
- 21374
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dunklen | dunkles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dunkel | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dunkel |
Where the eye mixes dunklen and dunkles
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dunklen and dunkles
A purely visual mix-up. dunklen ([ˈdʊŋklən]) and dunkles ([ˈdʊŋkləs]) 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 a single letter - n in “dunklen” becomes s in “dunkles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21374, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dunklen is recorded at frequency rank #4,111, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊŋklən]. dunkles is at rank #17,263, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊŋkləs].
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 21374, this pair ranks #1,887,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dunklen vs dunkles
Shared letters: deklnu. Private to "dunklen": -. Private to "dunkles": s.
"dunklen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "dunkles" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dunklen" and "dunkles" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dunklen" or "dunkles"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dunklen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dunkles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,887,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dunklen" and "dunkles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dunklere vs dunkles". 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 #1,887,024 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.