Which to use
“warn” and “warnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,382
- “warn” frequency rank
- #6,129
- “warnen” frequency rank
- 36511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | warn | warnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs warnen | jemanden auf eine Gefahr aufmerksam machen |
Where the eye mixes warn and warnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between warn and warnen
A purely visual mix-up. warn ([vaʁn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “warn” sits inside “warnen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
warn is recorded at frequency rank #30,382, classified as averb, pronounced [vaʁn]. 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 36511, this pair ranks #1,613,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of warn vs warnen
Shared letters: anrw. Private to "warn": -. Private to "warnen": e.
"warn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "warnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "warn" and "warnen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "warn" or "warnen" show up more?
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 "warn" 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 #1,613,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "warn" and "warnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warn vs wash". 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 #1,613,788 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.