sinktvsspinntConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,649
“sinkt” frequency rank
#19,397
“spinnt” frequency rank
25046
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sinkt spinnt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sinken 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spinnen

Where the eye mixes sinkt and spinnt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sinkt runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against spinnt's 6 (CCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
sinkt
6 ch
spinnt

Why the eye confuses sinkt with spinnt

A purely visual mix-up. sinkt ([zɪŋkt]) and spinnt ([ʃpɪnt]) 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 25046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sinkt is recorded at frequency rank #5,649, classified as averb, pronounced [zɪŋkt]. spinnt is at rank #19,397, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpɪnt].

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 25046, this pair ranks #1,838,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sinkt vs spinnt

Shared letters: inst. Private to "sinkt": k. Private to "spinnt": p.

"sinkt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "spinnt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sinkt ← isnkt · siknt · sinkkt · sinktt · sinnkt · sintk · snikt · ssinkt
  • spinnt ← psinnt · sipnnt · spinntt · spint · spintn · spnint · sppinnt · sspinnt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sinkt" for "spinnt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zɪŋkt] versus [ʃpɪnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sinkt" or "spinnt"?
"sinkt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,649 in our German list, against #19,397 for "spinnt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sinkt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "spinnt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,838,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sinkt" and "spinnt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spinnt vs spitzt". 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 #1,838,945 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