Which to use
“wagten” and “wüten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,900
- “wagten” frequency rank
- #42,274
- “wüten” frequency rank
- 76174
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wagten | wüten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wagen | kraftvoll agierend und oft ungerichtet Zerstörungen anrichten |
Where the eye mixes wagten and wüten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wagten runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against wüten's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wagten and wüten
A purely visual mix-up. wagten ([ˈvaːktn̩]) and wüten ([ˈvyːtn̩]) 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 76174, 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]. wüten is at rank #42,274, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvyːtn̩].
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 76174, this pair ranks #290,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of wagten vs wüten
Shared letters: entw. Private to "wagten": ag. Private to "wüten": ü.
"wagten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "wüten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wagten ← awgten · wagetn · waggten · wagtenn · wagtne · wagtten · watgen · wgaten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wagten" for "wüten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "wagten" or "wüten" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wagten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wüten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #290,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wagten" and "wüten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wotan vs wüten". 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 #290,042 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.