WeilsvsWerksTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,047
“Weils” frequency rank
#15,264
“Werks” frequency rank
31311
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Weils Werks
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Weil Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Werk

Where the eye mixes Weils and Werks

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Weils
5 ch
Werks

Why the eye confuses Weils with Werks

A purely visual mix-up. Weils ([vaɪ̯ls]) and Werks ([vɛʁks]) 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 31311, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Weils is recorded at frequency rank #16,047, classified as anoun, pronounced [vaɪ̯ls]. Werks is at rank #15,264, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vɛʁks].

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 31311, this pair ranks #1,730,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Weils vs Werks

Shared letters: esw. Private to "Weils": il. Private to "Werks": kr.

"Weils" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "Werks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Weilsewils · weills · weilss · weisl · welis · wiels · wweils
  • Werksewrks · wekrs · werkks · werkss · werrks · wersk · wreks · wwerks

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Weils" and "Werks" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([vaɪ̯ls] versus [vɛʁks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Weils" vs "Werks" - which ranks higher?
"Werks" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,264 in our German list, against #16,047 for "Weils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Weils" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Werks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,730,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Weils" and "Werks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Weils vs Weins". 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 #1,730,687 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