Which to use
“waren” and “würgen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #115
- “waren” frequency rank
- #29,877
- “würgen” frequency rank
- 29992
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | waren | würgen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Präteritum Indikativ Aktiv des Verbs sein | jemandem die Kehle zudrücken |
Where the eye mixes waren and würgen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. waren runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against würgen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses waren with würgen
A purely visual mix-up. waren ([ˈvaːʁən]) and würgen ([ˈvʏʁɡn̩]) 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 29992, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
waren is recorded at frequency rank #115, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaːʁən]. würgen is at rank #29,877, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvʏʁɡn̩].
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 29992, this pair ranks #1,756,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of waren vs würgen
Shared letters: enrw. Private to "waren": a. Private to "würgen": gü.
"waren" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "würgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- waren ← awren · waern · warenn · wraen · wwaren
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "waren" and "würgen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "waren" vs "würgen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "würgen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,756,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "waren" and "würgen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "würgen vs Würmern". 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 #1,756,413 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.