tickenvsticktConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,723
“ticken” frequency rank
#17,742
“tickt” frequency rank
36465
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ticken tickt
Definition „Ticktack“ machen wie eine mechanische Uhr 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ticken

Where the eye mixes ticken and tickt

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

6 ch
ticken
5 ch
tickt

Look-alike desk: ticken vs tickt

A purely visual mix-up. ticken ([ˈtɪkn̩]) and tickt ([tɪkt]) 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 36465, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ticken is recorded at frequency rank #18,723, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtɪkn̩]. tickt is at rank #17,742, tagged as averb, pronounced [tɪkt].

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 36465, this pair ranks #1,614,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ticken vs tickt

Shared letters: cikt. Private to "ticken": en. Private to "tickt": -.

"ticken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tickt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ticken ← itcken · tciken · ticcken · ticekn · tickenn · tickken · tickne · tikcen
  • tickt ← itckt · tcikt · ticckt · tickkt · ticktt · tictk · tikct · ttickt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ticken" and "tickt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɪkn̩] versus [tɪkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ticken" or "tickt"?
"tickt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,742 in our German list, against #18,723 for "ticken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ticken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tickt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,614,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ticken" and "tickt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Teichen vs ticken". 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 #1,614,945 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