weckenvswendenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,424
“wecken” frequency rank
#3,554
“wenden” frequency rank
10978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wecken wenden
Definition jemanden aus dem Schlaf holen, wach machen Vergangenheitsform „wendete“

Where the eye mixes wecken and wenden

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

6 ch
wecken
6 ch
wenden

Look-alike desk: wecken vs wenden

A purely visual mix-up. wecken ([ˈvɛkn̩]) and wenden ([ˈvɛndn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wecken is recorded at frequency rank #7,424, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛkn̩]. wenden is at rank #3,554, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛndn̩].

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 10978, this pair ranks #1,972,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wecken vs wenden

Shared letters: enw. Private to "wecken": ck. Private to "wenden": d.

"wecken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "wenden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weckenewcken · wceken · weccken · wecekn · weckenn · weckken · weckne · wekcen
  • wendenewnden · wednen · wendden · wendenn · wendne · wenedn · wennden · wneden

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "wecken" and "wenden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛkn̩] versus [ˈvɛndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wecken" or "wenden"?
"wenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,554 in our German list, against #7,424 for "wecken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "wecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,972,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wecken" and "wenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wecken vs Wickel". 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 #1,972,319 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