sinnenvsSpinnerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sinnen is a verb, Spinner is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sinnen” is a verb and “Spinner” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,747
“sinnen” frequency rank
#9,097
“Spinner” frequency rank
24844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sinnen Spinner
Definition nachdenken, grübeln Person, die das Spinnen betreibt, in einer Spinnerei arbeitet, Garn herstellt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sinnen and Spinner apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
sinnen
7 ch
Spinner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sinnen is [ˈzɪnən] while Spinner is [ˈʃpɪnɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sinnen is recorded at frequency rank #15,747, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪnən]. Spinner is at rank #9,097, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪnɐ].

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 24844, this pair ranks #1,841,852 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sinnen vs Spinner

Shared letters: eins. Private to "sinnen": -. Private to "Spinner": pr.

"sinnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Spinner" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sinnenisnnen · sinenn · sinnenn · sinnne · sninen · ssinnen
  • Spinnerpsinner · sipnner · spinenr · spiner · spinnerr · spinnre · spniner · sppinner

Frequency comparison

sinnen#15,747
Spinner#9,097

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sinnen" and "Spinner" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sinnen" is a verb and "Spinner" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sinnen" or "Spinner"?
"Spinner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,097 in our German list, against #15,747 for "sinnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sinnen vs Spinner

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sinnen”; for a noun, it's “Spinner”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sinnen” 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