Which to use
“waren” and “warst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #115
- “waren” frequency rank
- #3,092
- “warst” frequency rank
- 3207
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | waren | warst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Präteritum Indikativ Aktiv des Verbs sein | 2. Person Singular Präteritum Indikativ des Verbs sein |
Where the eye mixes waren and warst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between waren and warst
A purely visual mix-up. waren ([ˈvaːʁən]) and warst ([vaːɐ̯st]) 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 3207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
waren is recorded at frequency rank #115, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaːʁən]. warst is at rank #3,092, tagged as averb, pronounced [vaːɐ̯st].
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 3207, this pair ranks #2,000,719 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of waren vs warst
Shared letters: arw. Private to "waren": en. Private to "warst": st.
"waren" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "warst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "waren" and "warst" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "waren" or "warst"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "waren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "warst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,000,719 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "waren" and "warst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warst 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 #2,000,719 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.