wannvswantsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wann is a adverb, wants is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wann” is an adverb and “wants” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#592
“wann” frequency rank
#49,376
“wants” frequency rank
49968
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wann wants
Definition zu welchem Zeitpunkt 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs want

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wann and wants apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
wann
5 ch
wants

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: wann is anadverb and wantsaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wann is recorded at frequency rank #592, classified as anadv, pronounced [van]. wants is at rank #49,376, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 49968, this pair ranks #1,191,604 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wann vs wants

Shared letters: anw. Private to "wann": -. Private to "wants": st.

"wann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "wants" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wannawnn · wan · wnan · wwann
  • wantsawnts · wannts · wanst · wantss · wantts · watns · wnats · wwants

Frequency comparison

wann#592
wants#49,376

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wann" and "wants" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wann" is an adverb and "wants" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wann" or "wants"?
"wann" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #592 in our German list, against #49,376 for "wants". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering wann vs wants

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “wann”; for a verb, it's “wants”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wann” 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