SchenkevsSchurkeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#17,713
“Schenke” frequency rank
#49,237
“Schurke” frequency rank
66950
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schenke Schurke
Definition kleiner Alkohol-Ausschank-Betrieb jemand, der moralisch verwerflich handelt

Where the eye mixes Schenke and Schurke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schenke and Schurke follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Schenke
7 ch
Schurke

Look-alike desk: Schenke vs Schurke

A purely visual mix-up. Schenke ([ˈʃɛŋkə]) and Schurke ([ˈʃʊʁkə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66950, 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]. Schurke is at rank #49,237, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊʁkə].

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 66950, this pair ranks #556,250 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schenke vs Schurke

Shared letters: cehks. Private to "Schenke": n. Private to "Schurke": ru.

"Schenke" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schurke" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schenke ← cshenke · scchenke · scehnke · schekne · schenek · schenkke · schennke · schhenke
  • Schurke ← cshurke · scchurke · schhurke · schruke · schukre · schurek · schurkke · schurrke

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schenke" and "Schurke" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛŋkə] versus [ˈʃʊʁkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schenke" or "Schurke"?
"Schenke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,713 in our German list, against #49,237 for "Schurke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Schenke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schurke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #556,250 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schenke" and "Schurke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlucke vs Schurke". 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 #556,250 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