Which to use
“tanken” and “tränke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,601
- “tanken” frequency rank
- #46,338
- “tränke” frequency rank
- 58939
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tanken | tränke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Tank eines Fahrzeugs mit Treibstoff befüllen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tränken |
Where the eye mixes tanken and tränke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tanken (CVCCVC) and tränke (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between tanken and tränke
A purely visual mix-up. tanken ([ˈtaŋkn̩]) and tränke ([ˈtʁɛŋkə]) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tanken is recorded at frequency rank #12,601, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaŋkn̩]. tränke is at rank #46,338, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɛŋkə].
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 58939, this pair ranks #843,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tanken vs tränke
Shared letters: eknt. Private to "tanken": a. Private to "tränke": rä.
"tanken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tränke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tanken ← atnken · taknen · tanekn · tankenn · tankken · tankne · tannken · tnaken
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tanken" for "tränke" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tanken" vs "tränke" - which ranks higher?
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 "tanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tränke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #843,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tanken" and "tränke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Trainee vs tränke". 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 #843,489 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.