Which to use
“senken” and “senkte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,879
- “senken” frequency rank
- #30,765
- “senkte” frequency rank
- 36644
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | senken | senkte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in eine niedrigere Position bringen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs senken |
Where the eye mixes senken and senkte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. senken (CVCCVC) and senkte (CVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: senken vs senkte
A purely visual mix-up. senken ([ˈzɛŋkn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
senken is recorded at frequency rank #5,879, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛŋkn̩]. 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 36644, this pair ranks #1,610,291 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of senken vs senkte
Shared letters: ekns. Private to "senken": -. Private to "senkte": t.
"senken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "senkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "senken" for "senkte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "senken" vs "senkte" - which ranks higher?
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 "senken" 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 #1,610,291 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "senken" 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 #1,610,291 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.