we're vs were, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“we're” is an abbrev and “were” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,728
“we're” frequency rank: #13,071
“were” frequency rank: 49799
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	we're	were
Definition	„we are:“ wir sind	2. Person Singular simple past des Verbs be

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set we're and were apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

we're

4 ch

were

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: we're is anabbrev and wereaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

we're is recorded at frequency rank #36,728, classified as anabbrev, pronounced […]. were is at rank #13,071, tagged as averb, pronounced [wɜː].

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 49799, this pair ranks #1,197,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of we're vs were

Shared letters: erw. Private to "we're": -. Private to "were": -.

"we're" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "were" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

were ← ewre · weer · werre · wree · wwere

Frequency comparison

we're#36,728

were#13,071

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "we're" and "were" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "we're" is an abbrev and "were" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "we're" or "were"?

"were" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,071 in our German list, against #36,728 for "we're". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering we're vs were

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an abbrev, it's “we're”; for a verb, it's “were”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “we're” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable