Which to use
“sinken” and “socken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,763
- “sinken” frequency rank
- #6,355
- “socken” frequency rank
- 12118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sinken | socken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | untergehen | gehen |
Where the eye mixes sinken and socken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sinken and socken
A purely visual mix-up. sinken ([ˈzɪŋkn̩]) and socken ([ˈzɔkn̩]) 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 12118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sinken is recorded at frequency rank #5,763, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪŋkn̩]. socken is at rank #6,355, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔkn̩].
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 12118, this pair ranks #1,966,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sinken vs socken
Shared letters: ekns. Private to "sinken": i. Private to "socken": co.
"sinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "socken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sinken" and "socken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sinken" or "socken"?
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 "sinken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "socken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,966,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sinken" and "socken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "socken 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 #1,966,079 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.