wagtenvswarntenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,900
“wagten” frequency rank
#47,846
“warnten” frequency rank
81746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wagten warnten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wagen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs warnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wagten and warnten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
wagten
7 ch
warnten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wagten ([ˈvaːktn̩]) and warnten ([ˈvaʁntn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wagten is recorded at frequency rank #33,900, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaːktn̩]. warnten is at rank #47,846, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁntn̩].

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 81746, this pair ranks #169,944 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of wagten vs warnten

Shared letters: aentw. Private to "wagten": g. Private to "warnten": r.

"wagten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "warnten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wagtenawgten · wagetn · waggten · wagtenn · wagtne · wagtten · watgen · wgaten
  • warntenawrnten · wanrten · warnetn · warnnten · warntenn · warntne · warntten · warrnten

Frequency comparison

wagten#33,900
warnten#47,846

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wagten" and "warnten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaːktn̩] versus [ˈvaʁntn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wagten" or "warnten"?
"wagten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,900 in our German list, against #47,846 for "warnten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wagten vs warnten

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 “wagten” 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