Which to use
“sank” is a verb and “sens” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,128
- “sank” frequency rank
- #42,806
- “sens” frequency rank
- 50934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sank | sens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sinken | Bedeutung; Sinn |
Where the eye mixes sank and sens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sank vs sens
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sank is [zaŋk] while sens is [sɑ̃s]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50934, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sank is recorded at frequency rank #8,128, classified as averb, pronounced [zaŋk]. sens is at rank #42,806, tagged as anoun, pronounced [sɑ̃s].
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 50934, this pair ranks #1,154,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sank vs sens
Shared letters: ns. Private to "sank": ak. Private to "sens": e.
"sank" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sank" for "sens" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "sank" or "sens" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sank" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,154,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sank" and "sens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs sens". 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 #1,154,810 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.