igevsinkConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#21,298
“ige” frequency rank
#45,363
“ink” frequency rank
66661
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ige ink
Definition Verb Tinte

Where the eye mixes ige and ink

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. ige (VCV) and ink (VCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
ige
3 ch
ink

Why the eye confuses ige with ink

A purely visual mix-up. ige ([ˈiɡɛ]) and ink ([ɪŋk]) 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 66661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ige is recorded at frequency rank #21,298, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈiɡɛ]. ink is at rank #45,363, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪŋk].

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 66661, this pair ranks #565,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ige vs ink

Shared letters: i. Private to "ige": eg. Private to "ink": kn.

"ige" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ink" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ige" and "ink" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈiɡɛ] versus [ɪŋk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "ige" or "ink" show up more?
"ige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,298 in our German list, against #45,363 for "ink". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "ige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ink" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #565,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ige" and "ink" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs ink". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #565,769 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