Which to use
“warnen” is a verb and “Warnung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,129
- “warnen” frequency rank
- #5,551
- “Warnung” frequency rank
- 11680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | warnen | Warnung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden auf eine Gefahr aufmerksam machen | Hinweis auf eine Gefahr |
Where the eye mixes warnen and Warnung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses warnen with Warnung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: warnen is [ˈvaʁnən] while Warnung is [ˈvaʁnʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
warnen is recorded at frequency rank #6,129, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁnən]. Warnung is at rank #5,551, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaʁnʊŋ].
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 11680, this pair ranks #1,968,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of warnen vs Warnung
Shared letters: anrw. Private to "warnen": e. Private to "Warnung": gu.
"warnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Warnung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "warnen" for "Warnung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "warnen" or "Warnung" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "warnen" and "Warnung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "warnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Warnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,968,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "warnen" and "Warnung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warnen 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 #1,968,520 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.