Which to use
“wanken” and “warnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,833
- “wanken” frequency rank
- #6,129
- “warnen” frequency rank
- 31962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wanken | warnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | hin und her neigen, in der Gefahr zu kippen | jemanden auf eine Gefahr aufmerksam machen |
Where the eye mixes wanken and warnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: wanken vs warnen
A purely visual mix-up. wanken ([ˈvaŋkn̩]) and warnen ([ˈvaʁnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wanken is recorded at frequency rank #25,833, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaŋkn̩]. warnen is at rank #6,129, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁnən].
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 31962, this pair ranks #1,717,587 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wanken vs warnen
Shared letters: aenw. Private to "wanken": k. Private to "warnen": r.
"wanken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "warnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wanken" for "warnen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wanken" or "warnen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "warnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,717,587 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wanken" and "warnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wanken vs warnten". 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 #1,717,587 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.