Which to use
“funkeln” is a verb and “Funken” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,101
- “funkeln” frequency rank
- #11,236
- “Funken” frequency rank
- 45337
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | funkeln | Funken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kurz und schnell aufleuchten, blitzen | glühendes Teilchen einer Materie |
Where the eye mixes funkeln and Funken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. funkeln runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against Funken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between funkeln and Funken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: funkeln is [ˈfʊŋkl̩n] while Funken is [ˈfʊŋkn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
funkeln is recorded at frequency rank #34,101, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʊŋkl̩n]. Funken is at rank #11,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʊŋkn̩].
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 45337, this pair ranks #1,356,469 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of funkeln vs Funken
Shared letters: efknu. Private to "funkeln": l. Private to "Funken": -.
"funkeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "Funken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "funkeln" for "Funken" ever safe?
Frequency check: "funkeln" vs "Funken" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "funkeln" and "Funken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "funkeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Funken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,356,469 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "funkeln" and "Funken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Funden vs funkeln". 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 #1,356,469 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.