Which to use
“samt” is a preposition and “sank” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,155
- “samt” frequency rank
- #8,128
- “sank” frequency rank
- 12283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | samt | sank |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Dativ: zusammen mit | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sinken |
Where the eye mixes samt and sank
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. samt and sank follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between samt and sank
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: samt is [zamt] while sank is [zaŋk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
samt is recorded at frequency rank #4,155, classified as aprep, pronounced [zamt]. sank is at rank #8,128, tagged as averb, pronounced [zaŋk].
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 12283, this pair ranks #1,965,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of samt vs sank
Shared letters: as. Private to "samt": mt. Private to "sank": kn.
"samt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sank" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "samt" and "sank" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "samt" or "sank"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "samt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sank" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,965,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "samt" and "sank" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sake vs sank". 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 #1,965,107 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.