densvsDINKWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dens” and “DINK” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,854
“dens” frequency rank
#41,084
“DINK” frequency rank
75938
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dens DINK
Definition plural of den Acronym of double income, no kids or dual income, no kids: a childless couple with two jobs and thus two incomes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dens and DINK apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
dens
4 ch
DINK

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dens (/dɛnz/) and DINK (/dɪŋk/) 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 75938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dens is recorded at frequency rank #34,854, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɛnz/. DINK is at rank #41,084, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪŋk/.

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 75938, this pair ranks #31,598 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dens vs DINK

Shared letters: dn. Private to "dens": es. Private to "DINK": ik.

"dens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "DINK" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • densddens · denns · denss · desn · dnes
  • DINKddink · dikn · dinkk · dinnk · dnik · idnk

Frequency comparison

dens#34,854
DINK#41,084

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dens" and "DINK" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/dɛnz/ versus /dɪŋk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dens" or "DINK"?
"dens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,854 in our English list, against #41,084 for "DINK". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dens vs DINK

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dens” 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