warfvswarneWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“warf” and “warne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,666
“warf” frequency rank
#33,389
“warne” frequency rank
38055
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature warf warne
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs werfen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs warnen

Where the eye mixes warf and warne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
warf
5 ch
warne

Look-alike desk: warf vs warne

A purely visual mix-up. warf ([vaʁf]) and warne ([ˈvaʁnə]) 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 38055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

warf is recorded at frequency rank #4,666, classified as averb, pronounced [vaʁf]. warne is at rank #33,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁnə].

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 38055, this pair ranks #1,573,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of warf vs warne

Shared letters: arw. Private to "warf": f. Private to "warne": en.

"warf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "warne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • warfawrf · wafr · warff · warrf · wraf · wwarf
  • warneawrne · wanre · wrane · wwarne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "warf" and "warne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vaʁf] versus [ˈvaʁnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "warf" vs "warne" - which ranks higher?
"warf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,666 in our German list, against #33,389 for "warne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "warf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "warne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,573,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "warf" and "warne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warne 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 #1,573,982 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list