likesvswennsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: likes is a verb, wenns is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

“likes” is a verb and “wenns” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,771
“likes” frequency rank
#5,445
“wenns” frequency rank
22216
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature likes wenns
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs like wenn es

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
likes
5 ch
wenns

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: likes is averb and wennsanabbrev. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

likes is recorded at frequency rank #16,771, classified as averb, pronounced […]. wenns is at rank #5,445, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced […].

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 22216, this pair ranks #1,876,891 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of likes vs wenns

Shared letters: es. Private to "likes": ikl. Private to "wenns": nw.

"likes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "wenns" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • likes ← ilkes · lieks · likess · likkes · likse · lkies · llikes
  • wenns ← ewnns · wennss · wens · wensn · wnens · wwenns

Frequency comparison

likes#16,771
wenns#5,445

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "likes" and "wenns" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "likes" is a verb and "wenns" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "likes" or "wenns"?
"wenns" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,445 in our German list, against #16,771 for "likes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering likes vs wenns

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “likes”; for an abbrev, it's “wenns”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “likes” 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