Which to use
“sinkende” and “stinkende” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,061
- “sinkende” frequency rank
- #44,254
- “stinkende” frequency rank
- 65315
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sinkende | stinkende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sinkend | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stinkend |
Where the eye mixes sinkende and stinkende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sinkende and stinkende
A purely visual mix-up. sinkende ([ˈzɪŋkn̩də]) and stinkende ([ˈʃtɪŋkn̩də]) 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 65315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sinkende is recorded at frequency rank #21,061, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɪŋkn̩də]. stinkende is at rank #44,254, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɪŋkn̩də].
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 65315, this pair ranks #611,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sinkende vs stinkende
Shared letters: deikns. Private to "sinkende": -. Private to "stinkende": t.
"sinkende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "stinkende" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sinkende" and "stinkende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sinkende" or "stinkende"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sinkende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stinkende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #611,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sinkende" and "stinkende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sinkender vs stinkende". 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 #611,179 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.