Which to use
“verdanken” and “versinken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,117
- “verdanken” frequency rank
- #22,197
- “versinken” frequency rank
- 28314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdanken | versinken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem wegen etwas zu Dank verpflichtet sein | in eine weiche Materie eintauchen |
Where the eye mixes verdanken and versinken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verdanken and versinken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between verdanken and versinken
A purely visual mix-up. verdanken ([fɛɐ̯ˈdaŋkn̩]) and versinken ([fɛɐ̯ˈzɪŋkn̩]) 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 28314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verdanken is recorded at frequency rank #6,117, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdaŋkn̩]. versinken is at rank #22,197, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzɪŋkn̩].
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 28314, this pair ranks #1,786,983 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verdanken vs versinken
Shared letters: eknrv. Private to "verdanken": ad. Private to "versinken": is.
"verdanken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "versinken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verdanken" and "versinken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verdanken" or "versinken"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "versinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,786,983 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdanken" and "versinken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdanken vs verdankte". 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 #1,786,983 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.