wannavsWantWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wanna is a abbrev, Want is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wanna” is an abbrev and “Want” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,359
“wanna” frequency rank
#12,000
“Want” frequency rank
44359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wanna Want
Definition (haben) wollen, möchten „Seil oder Stange zur seitlichen Verspannung eines Masts“

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
wanna
4 ch
Want

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wanna is [ˈwɒnə] while Want is [vant]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (abbrev vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wanna is recorded at frequency rank #32,359, classified as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈwɒnə]. Want is at rank #12,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vant].

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 44359, this pair ranks #1,388,752 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wanna vs Want

Shared letters: anw. Private to "wanna": -. Private to "Want": t.

"wanna" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Want" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wannaawnna · wana · wanan · wnana · wwanna
  • Wantawnt · wannt · wantt · watn · wnat · wwant

Frequency comparison

wanna#32,359
Want#12,000

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wanna" and "Want" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wanna" is an abbrev and "Want" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wanna" or "Want"?
"Want" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,000 in our German list, against #32,359 for "wanna". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wanna vs Want

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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