SchenkevsSchenkerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,713
“Schenke” frequency rank
#34,897
“Schenker” frequency rank
52610
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schenke Schenker
Definition kleiner Alkohol-Ausschank-Betrieb jemand, der etwas verschenkt

Where the eye mixes Schenke and Schenker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Schenke runs 7 letters (CCCVCCV) against Schenker's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Schenke
8 ch
Schenker

Look-alike desk: Schenke vs Schenker

A purely visual mix-up. Schenke ([ˈʃɛŋkə]) and Schenker ([ˈʃɛŋkɐ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Schenke” sits inside “Schenker”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52610, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schenke is recorded at frequency rank #17,713, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛŋkə]. Schenker is at rank #34,897, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛŋkɐ].

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 52610, this pair ranks #1,090,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schenke vs Schenker

Shared letters: cehkns. Private to "Schenke": -. Private to "Schenker": r.

"Schenke" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schenker" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schenke ← cshenke · scchenke · scehnke · schekne · schenek · schenkke · schennke · schhenke
  • Schenker ← cshenker · scchenker · scehnker · schekner · schenekr · schenkerr · schenkker · schenkre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schenke" for "Schenker" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛŋkə] versus [ˈʃɛŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schenke" vs "Schenker" - which ranks higher?
"Schenke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,713 in our German list, against #34,897 for "Schenker". 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 "Schenke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schenker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,090,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schenke" and "Schenker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schenkeln vs Schenker". 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 #1,090,113 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