Which to use
“ticken” and “tilgen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,723
- “ticken” frequency rank
- #29,367
- “tilgen” frequency rank
- 48090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ticken | tilgen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | „Ticktack“ machen wie eine mechanische Uhr | geliehenes Geld (oder allgemein Schulden) wieder zurückzahlen |
Where the eye mixes ticken and tilgen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ticken and tilgen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: ticken vs tilgen
A purely visual mix-up. ticken ([ˈtɪkn̩]) and tilgen ([ˈtɪlɡn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48090, 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]. tilgen is at rank #29,367, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtɪlɡn̩].
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 48090, this pair ranks #1,261,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ticken vs tilgen
Shared letters: eint. Private to "ticken": ck. Private to "tilgen": gl.
"ticken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tilgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ticken" for "tilgen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ticken" vs "tilgen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ticken" and "tilgen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ticken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tilgen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,261,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ticken" and "tilgen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tilgen vs trügen". 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 #1,261,176 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.