Which to use
“picken” and “pinkeln” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,512
- “picken” frequency rank
- #15,454
- “pinkeln” frequency rank
- 60966
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picken | pinkeln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit dem Schnabel auf etwas einhacken, insbesondere Futterkörner | die Blase auf natürlichem Weg entleeren |
Where the eye mixes picken and pinkeln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. picken runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against pinkeln's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between picken and pinkeln
A purely visual mix-up. picken ([ˈpɪkn̩]) and pinkeln ([ˈpɪŋkl̩n]) 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 60966, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
picken is recorded at frequency rank #45,512, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpɪkn̩]. pinkeln is at rank #15,454, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpɪŋkl̩n].
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 60966, this pair ranks #767,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of picken vs pinkeln
Shared letters: eiknp. Private to "picken": c. Private to "pinkeln": l.
"picken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "pinkeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "picken" for "pinkeln" ever safe?
Frequency check: "picken" vs "pinkeln" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "picken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pinkeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #767,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picken" and "pinkeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "picken vs Pinken". 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 #767,297 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.