singevssinkenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,828
“singe” frequency rank
#5,763
“sinken” frequency rank
22591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature singe sinken
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs singen untergehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set singe and sinken apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
singe
6 ch
sinken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. singe ([ˈzɪŋə]) and sinken ([ˈzɪŋkn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

singe is recorded at frequency rank #16,828, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪŋə]. sinken is at rank #5,763, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪŋkn̩].

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 22591, this pair ranks #1,872,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of singe vs sinken

Shared letters: eins. Private to "singe": g. Private to "sinken": k.

"singe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "sinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • singeisnge · signe · sineg · singge · sinnge · snige · ssinge
  • sinkenisnken · siknen · sinekn · sinkenn · sinkken · sinkne · sinnken · sniken

Frequency comparison

singe#16,828
sinken#5,763

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "singe" and "sinken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɪŋə] versus [ˈzɪŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "singe" or "sinken"?
"sinken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,763 in our German list, against #16,828 for "singe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering singe vs sinken

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 “singe” 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