Which to use
“sinken” and “spinnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,763
- “sinken” frequency rank
- #10,368
- “spinnen” frequency rank
- 16131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sinken | spinnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | untergehen | einen Faden herstellen, Erstellung von Garn aus einzelnen Fasern |
Where the eye mixes sinken and spinnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sinken with spinnen
A purely visual mix-up. sinken ([ˈzɪŋkn̩]) and spinnen ([ˈʃpɪnən]) 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 16131, 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]. spinnen is at rank #10,368, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpɪnən].
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 16131, this pair ranks #1,938,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sinken vs spinnen
Shared letters: eins. Private to "sinken": k. Private to "spinnen": p.
"sinken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "spinnen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sinken" for "spinnen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sinken" or "spinnen"?
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 "spinnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,938,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sinken" and "spinnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sinken 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 #1,938,326 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.