FinkvsflinkWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Fink is a noun, flink is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Fink” is a noun and “flink” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,491
“Fink” frequency rank
#33,588
“flink” frequency rank
46079
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fink flink
Definition Vertreter der artenreichen Familie Fringillidae aus der Ordnung der Sperlingsvögel (Passeriformes) schnell und behände; flott

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Fink and flink apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Fink
5 ch
flink

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fink is [fɪŋk] while flink is [flɪŋk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fink is recorded at frequency rank #12,491, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɪŋk]. flink is at rank #33,588, tagged as anadj, pronounced [flɪŋk].

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 46079, this pair ranks #1,331,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Fink vs flink

Shared letters: fikn. Private to "Fink": -. Private to "flink": l.

"Fink" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "flink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Finkffink · fikn · finkk · finnk · fnik · ifnk
  • flinkfflink · filnk · flikn · flinkk · flinnk · fllink · flnik · lfink

Frequency comparison

Fink#12,491
flink#33,588

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fink" and "flink" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Fink" is a noun and "flink" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Fink" or "flink"?
"Fink" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,491 in our German list, against #33,588 for "flink". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Fink vs flink

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Fink”; for an adjective, it's “flink”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fink” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list