merkvsmerkstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“merk” and “merkst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,537
“merk” frequency rank
#10,696
“merkst” frequency rank
23233
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature merk merkst
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs merken 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs merken

Where the eye mixes merk and merkst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. merk runs 4 letters (CVCC) against merkst's 6 (CVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
merk
6 ch
merkst

Why the eye confuses merk with merkst

A purely visual mix-up. merk ([mɛʁk]) and merkst ([mɛʁkst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “merk” sits inside “merkst”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

merk is recorded at frequency rank #12,537, classified as averb, pronounced [mɛʁk]. merkst is at rank #10,696, tagged as averb, pronounced [mɛʁkst].

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 23233, this pair ranks #1,863,989 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of merk vs merkst

Shared letters: ekmr. Private to "merk": -. Private to "merkst": st.

"merk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "merkst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • merk ← mekr · merkk · merrk · mmerk · mrek
  • merkst ← emrkst · mekrst · merkkst · merksst · merkstt · merkts · merrkst · merskt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "merk" and "merkst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mɛʁk] versus [mɛʁkst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "merk" or "merkst"?
"merkst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,696 in our German list, against #12,537 for "merk". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "merk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "merkst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,863,989 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "merk" and "merkst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "merk vs mora". 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 #1,863,989 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list