entdeckenvsentlockenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“entdecken” and “entlocken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,810
“entdecken” frequency rank
#41,778
“entlocken” frequency rank
45588
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entdecken entlocken
Definition jemanden oder etwas erstmals finden, herausfinden jemanden überzeugen, beknien (locken), etwas zu tun, zu sagen, zu zeigen

Where the eye mixes entdecken and entlocken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entdecken and entlocken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
entdecken
9 ch
entlocken

Why the eye confuses entdecken with entlocken

A purely visual mix-up. entdecken ([ɛntˈdɛkn̩]) and entlocken ([ɛntˈlɔkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entdecken is recorded at frequency rank #3,810, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈdɛkn̩]. entlocken is at rank #41,778, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈlɔkn̩].

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 45588, this pair ranks #1,347,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entdecken vs entlocken

Shared letters: ceknt. Private to "entdecken": d. Private to "entlocken": lo.

"entdecken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entlocken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entdecken ← endtecken · enntdecken · entdceken · entddecken · entdeccken · entdecekn · entdeckenn · entdeckken
  • entlocken ← enltocken · enntlocken · entlcoken · entllocken · entloccken · entlocekn · entlockenn · entlockken

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "entdecken" and "entlocken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈdɛkn̩] versus [ɛntˈlɔkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "entdecken" or "entlocken" show up more?
"entdecken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,810 in our German list, against #41,778 for "entlocken". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "entdecken" and "entlocken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entdecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entlocken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,347,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entdecken" and "entlocken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entlocken vs entzücken". 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 #1,347,931 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list