InchvsinkConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#35,849
“Inch” frequency rank
#45,363
“ink” frequency rank
81212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Inch ink
Definition entspricht 2,54 Zentimeter Tinte

Where the eye mixes Inch and ink

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Inch
3 ch
ink

Why the eye confuses Inch with ink

A purely visual mix-up. Inch ([ɪnʃ]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Inch is recorded at frequency rank #35,849, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɪnʃ]. 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 81212, this pair ranks #180,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Inch vs ink

Shared letters: in. Private to "Inch": ch. Private to "ink": k.

"Inch" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "ink" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Inchicnh · incch · inchh · inhc · innch

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Inch" and "ink" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɪnʃ] versus [ɪŋk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Inch" vs "ink" - which ranks higher?
"Inch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,849 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.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Inch" 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 #180,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Inch" and "ink" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs ink". 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 #180,158 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