Which to use
“Wake” and “Wolke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,014
- “Wake” frequency rank
- #10,595
- “Wolke” frequency rank
- 38609
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wake | Wolke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | natürliche Öffnung in der Eisdecke, zumeist eines Flusses oder Sees, die zuweilen auch zeitweise oberflächlich leicht zufrieren kann | große Ansammlung von Wasserteilchen in der Troposphäre |
Where the eye mixes Wake and Wolke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Wake runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Wolke's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Wake with Wolke
A purely visual mix-up. Wake ([ˈvaːkə]) and Wolke ([ˈvɔlkə]) 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 38609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wake is recorded at frequency rank #28,014, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaːkə]. Wolke is at rank #10,595, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɔlkə].
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 38609, this pair ranks #1,559,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Wake vs Wolke
Shared letters: ekw. Private to "Wake": a. Private to "Wolke": lo.
"Wake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Wolke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Wake" and "Wolke" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Wake" or "Wolke" 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 "Wake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Wolke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,559,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wake" and "Wolke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wake vs waste". 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 #1,559,431 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.