weckenvswickelnWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,424
“wecken” frequency rank
#25,399
“wickeln” frequency rank
32823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wecken wickeln
Definition jemanden aus dem Schlaf holen, wach machen einer Person (meist einem Säugling) eine Windel anlegen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wecken and wickeln apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
wecken
7 ch
wickeln

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wecken ([ˈvɛkn̩]) and wickeln ([ˈvɪkl̩n]) 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 32823, 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]. wickeln is at rank #25,399, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪkl̩n].

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 32823, this pair ranks #1,699,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wecken vs wickeln

Shared letters: ceknw. Private to "wecken": -. Private to "wickeln": il.

"wecken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "wickeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weckenewcken · wceken · weccken · wecekn · weckenn · weckken · weckne · wekcen
  • wickelniwckeln · wcikeln · wicckeln · wicekln · wickelln · wickelnn · wickenl · wickkeln

Frequency comparison

wecken#7,424
wickeln#25,399

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wecken" and "wickeln" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛkn̩] versus [ˈvɪkl̩n]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wecken" or "wickeln"?
"wecken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,424 in our German list, against #25,399 for "wickeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wecken vs wickeln

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wecken” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list