senktvssinktConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#11,968
“senkt” frequency rank
#5,649
“sinkt” frequency rank
17617
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature senkt sinkt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs senken 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sinken

Where the eye mixes senkt and sinkt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
senkt
5 ch
sinkt

Why the eye confuses senkt with sinkt

A purely visual mix-up. senkt ([zɛŋkt]) and sinkt ([zɪŋkt]) 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 a single letter - e in “senkt” becomes i in “sinkt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

senkt is recorded at frequency rank #11,968, classified as averb, pronounced [zɛŋkt]. sinkt is at rank #5,649, tagged as averb, pronounced [zɪŋkt].

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 17617, this pair ranks #1,925,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of senkt vs sinkt

Shared letters: knst. Private to "senkt": e. Private to "sinkt": i.

"senkt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "sinkt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • senktesnkt · seknt · senkkt · senktt · sennkt · sentk · snekt · ssenkt
  • sinktisnkt · siknt · sinkkt · sinktt · sinnkt · sintk · snikt · ssinkt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "senkt" for "sinkt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zɛŋkt] versus [zɪŋkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "senkt" vs "sinkt" - which ranks higher?
"sinkt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,649 in our German list, against #11,968 for "senkt". 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 "senkt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sinkt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,925,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "senkt" and "sinkt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "senkt 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 #1,925,809 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