warstvswartWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,092
“warst” frequency rank
#8,970
“wart” frequency rank
12062
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature warst wart
Definition 2. Person Singular Präteritum Indikativ des Verbs sein 2. Person Plural Präteritum Indikativ des Verbs sein

Where the eye mixes warst and wart

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
warst
4 ch
wart

Look-alike desk: warst vs wart

A purely visual mix-up. warst ([vaːɐ̯st]) and wart ([vaːɐ̯t]) 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 12062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

warst is recorded at frequency rank #3,092, classified as averb, pronounced [vaːɐ̯st]. wart is at rank #8,970, tagged as averb, pronounced [vaːɐ̯t].

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 12062, this pair ranks #1,966,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of warst vs wart

Shared letters: artw. Private to "warst": s. Private to "wart": -.

"warst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "wart" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • warstawrst · warrst · warsst · warstt · warts · wasrt · wrast · wwarst
  • wartawrt · warrt · wartt · watr · wrat · wwart

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "warst" for "wart" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([vaːɐ̯st] versus [vaːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "warst" vs "wart" - which ranks higher?
"warst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,092 in our German list, against #8,970 for "wart". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "warst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wart" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,966,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "warst" and "wart" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wart 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 #1,966,401 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