schenktevsschenktenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#11,117
“schenkte” frequency rank
#38,387
“schenkten” frequency rank
49504
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schenkte schenkten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schenken 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schenken

Where the eye mixes schenkte and schenkten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schenkte runs 8 letters (CCCVCCCV) against schenkten's 9 (CCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
schenkte
9 ch
schenkten

Look-alike desk: schenkte vs schenkten

A purely visual mix-up. schenkte ([ˈʃɛŋktə]) and schenkten ([ˈʃɛŋktn̩]) 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) - “schenkte” sits inside “schenkten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schenkte is recorded at frequency rank #11,117, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛŋktə]. schenkten is at rank #38,387, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛŋktn̩].

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 49504, this pair ranks #1,209,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schenkte vs schenkten

Shared letters: cehknst. Private to "schenkte": -. Private to "schenkten": -.

"schenkte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV  ·  "schenkten" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schenktecshenkte · scchenkte · scehnkte · scheknte · schenket · schenkkte · schenktte · schennkte
  • schenktencshenkten · scchenkten · scehnkten · scheknten · schenketn · schenkkten · schenktenn · schenktne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schenkte" for "schenkten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛŋktə] versus [ˈʃɛŋktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schenkte" or "schenkten" show up more?
"schenkte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,117 in our German list, against #38,387 for "schenkten". 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 "schenkte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schenkten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,209,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schenkte" and "schenkten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schenkeln vs schenkten". 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 #1,209,043 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