Which to use
“dunklen” and “dünnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,111
- “dunklen” frequency rank
- #11,414
- “dünnen” frequency rank
- 15525
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dunklen | dünnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dunkel | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dünn |
Where the eye mixes dunklen and dünnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dunklen vs dünnen
A purely visual mix-up. dunklen ([ˈdʊŋklən]) and dünnen ([ˈdʏnən]) 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 15525, 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]. dünnen is at rank #11,414, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʏnən].
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 15525, this pair ranks #1,943,181 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dunklen vs dünnen
Shared letters: den. Private to "dunklen": klu. Private to "dünnen": ü.
"dunklen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "dünnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dunklen ← ddunklen · dnuklen · duknlen · dunkklen · dunklenn · dunkllen · dunklne · dunlken
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dunklen" for "dünnen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dunklen" vs "dünnen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dunklen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dünnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,943,181 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dunklen" and "dünnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Düne vs dünnen". 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 #1,943,181 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.