SchminkevsschminkenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schminke is a noun, schminken is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schminke” is a noun and “schminken” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,042
“Schminke” frequency rank
#26,157
“schminken” frequency rank
53199
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schminke schminken
Definition Substanz oder Produkt zur farblichen Gestaltung von Haut, Augen oder Gesicht Haut, Gesicht oder Augen mit Hilfe von Schminke farblich gestalten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schminke and schminken apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Schminke
9 ch
schminken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schminke is [ˈʃmɪŋkə] while schminken is [ˈʃmɪŋkn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Schminke” sits inside “schminken”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schminke is recorded at frequency rank #27,042, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃmɪŋkə]. schminken is at rank #26,157, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmɪŋkn̩].

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 53199, this pair ranks #1,067,384 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schminke vs schminken

Shared letters: cehikmns. Private to "Schminke": -. Private to "schminken": -.

"Schminke" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV  ·  "schminken" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schminkecshminke · scchminke · schhminke · schimnke · schmikne · schminek · schminkke · schminnke
  • schminkencshminken · scchminken · schhminken · schimnken · schmiknen · schminekn · schminkenn · schminkken

Frequency comparison

Schminke#27,042
schminken#26,157

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schminke" and "schminken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schminke" is a noun and "schminken" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schminke" or "schminken"?
"schminken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,157 in our German list, against #27,042 for "Schminke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schminke vs schminken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schminke”; for a verb, it's “schminken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schminke” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list