senkenvssenkteWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set senken and senkte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
senken
6 ch
senkte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • senkenesnken · seknen · senekn · senkenn · senkken · senkne · sennken · sneken
  • senkteesnkte · seknte · senket · senkkte · senktte · sennkte · sentke · snekte

Frequency comparison

senken#5,879
senkte#30,765

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "senken" and "senkte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɛŋkn̩] versus [ˈzɛŋktə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "senken" or "senkte"?
"senken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,879 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.

Remembering senken vs senkte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “senken” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list