Which to use
“Schinken” is a noun and “stinken” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,744
- “Schinken” frequency rank
- #22,520
- “stinken” frequency rank
- 34264
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schinken | stinken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fleisch der Schenkel von Schlachtvieh meist im engeren Sinne von Schweinen | (sehr) übel schlecht riechen, üblen Geruch verbreiten |
Where the eye mixes Schinken and stinken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Schinken runs 8 letters (CCCVCCVC) against stinken's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Schinken vs stinken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schinken is [ˈʃɪŋkn̩] while stinken is [ˈʃtɪŋkn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schinken is recorded at frequency rank #11,744, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪŋkn̩]. stinken is at rank #22,520, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪŋkn̩].
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 34264, this pair ranks #1,667,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schinken vs stinken
Shared letters: eikns. Private to "Schinken": ch. Private to "stinken": t.
"Schinken" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "stinken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Schinken" and "stinken" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Schinken" or "stinken"?
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 "Schinken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,667,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schinken" and "stinken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs stinken". 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 #1,667,288 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.