WeltkriegvsWeltkriegsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,698
“Weltkrieg” frequency rank
#10,012
“Weltkriegs” frequency rank
12710
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Weltkrieg Weltkriegs
Definition bewaffneter Konflikt, an welchem viele Länder beteiligt sind und dessen Kampfhandlungen sich über einen großen Teil der Erde erstrecken Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Weltkrieg

Where the eye mixes Weltkrieg and Weltkriegs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Weltkrieg runs 9 letters (CVCCCCVVC) against Weltkriegs's 10 (CVCCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Weltkrieg
10 ch
Weltkriegs

Why the eye confuses Weltkrieg with Weltkriegs

A purely visual mix-up. Weltkrieg ([ˈvɛltˌkʁiːk]) and Weltkriegs ([ˈvɛltˌkʁiːks]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Weltkrieg” sits inside “Weltkriegs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Weltkrieg is recorded at frequency rank #2,698, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛltˌkʁiːk]. Weltkriegs is at rank #10,012, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛltˌkʁiːks].

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 12710, this pair ranks #1,962,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Weltkrieg vs Weltkriegs

Shared letters: egiklrtw. Private to "Weltkrieg": -. Private to "Weltkriegs": s.

"Weltkrieg" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCVVC  ·  "Weltkriegs" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Weltkrieg ← ewltkrieg · welktrieg · welltkrieg · weltkireg · weltkkrieg · weltkreig · weltkriegg · weltkrige
  • Weltkriegs ← ewltkriegs · welktriegs · welltkriegs · weltkiregs · weltkkriegs · weltkreigs · weltkrieggs · weltkriegss

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Weltkrieg" for "Weltkriegs" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛltˌkʁiːk] versus [ˈvɛltˌkʁiːks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Weltkrieg" or "Weltkriegs"?
"Weltkrieg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,698 in our German list, against #10,012 for "Weltkriegs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Weltkrieg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Weltkriegs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,962,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Weltkrieg" and "Weltkriegs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Weltkriegen vs Weltkriegs". 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 #1,962,502 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