Which to use
“warfen” and “warnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,980
- “warfen” frequency rank
- #6,129
- “warnen” frequency rank
- 20109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | warfen | warnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs werfen | jemanden auf eine Gefahr aufmerksam machen |
Where the eye mixes warfen and warnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses warfen with warnen
A purely visual mix-up. warfen ([ˈvaʁfn̩]) and warnen ([ˈvaʁnən]) 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 a single letter - f in “warfen” becomes n in “warnen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
warfen is recorded at frequency rank #13,980, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁfn̩]. warnen is at rank #6,129, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁnən].
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 20109, this pair ranks #1,901,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of warfen vs warnen
Shared letters: aenrw. Private to "warfen": f. Private to "warnen": -.
"warfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "warnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "warfen" for "warnen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "warfen" or "warnen"?
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 "warfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "warnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,901,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "warfen" and "warnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warfen vs warnten". 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 #1,901,160 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.