verkündenvsversunkenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verkünden is a verb, versunken is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verkünden” is a verb and “versunken” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,195
“verkünden” frequency rank
#26,671
“versunken” frequency rank
38866
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkünden versunken
Definition öffentlich sagen irgendwo drin, zum Beispiel unter der Wasseroberfläche, verschwunden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verkünden and versunken apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verkünden
9 ch
versunken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verkünden is [fɛɐ̯ˈkʏndn̩] while versunken is [fɛɐ̯ˈzʊŋkn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkünden is recorded at frequency rank #12,195, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkʏndn̩]. versunken is at rank #26,671, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzʊŋkn̩].

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 38866, this pair ranks #1,552,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verkünden vs versunken

Shared letters: eknrv. Private to "verkünden": . Private to "versunken": su.

"verkünden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "versunken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versunkenevrsunken · verrsunken · versnuken · verssunken · versuknen · versunekn · versunkenn · versunkken

Frequency comparison

verkünden#12,195
versunken#26,671

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkünden" and "versunken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verkünden" is a verb and "versunken" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verkünden" or "versunken"?
"verkünden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,195 in our German list, against #26,671 for "versunken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verkünden vs versunken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verkünden”; for an adjective, it's “versunken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verkünden” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list