schenktevssenkteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,117
“schenkte” frequency rank
#30,765
“senkte” frequency rank
41882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schenkte senkte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schenken 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs senken

Where the eye mixes schenkte and senkte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schenkte runs 8 letters (CCCVCCCV) against senkte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
schenkte
6 ch
senkte

Visual trap between schenkte and senkte

A purely visual mix-up. schenkte ([ˈʃɛŋktə]) and senkte ([ˈzɛŋktə]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41882, 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]. senkte is at rank #30,765, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛŋktə].

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 41882, this pair ranks #1,466,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schenkte vs senkte

Shared letters: eknst. Private to "schenkte": ch. Private to "senkte": -.

"schenkte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV  ·  "senkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schenkte ← cshenkte · scchenkte · scehnkte · scheknte · schenket · schenkkte · schenktte · schennkte
  • senkte ← esnkte · seknte · senket · senkkte · senktte · sennkte · sentke · snekte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schenkte" for "senkte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛŋktə] versus [ˈzɛŋktə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schenkte" or "senkte"?
"schenkte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,117 in our German list, against #30,765 for "senkte". 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 "senkte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,466,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schenkte" and "senkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "senkte vs Sönke". 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 #1,466,216 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