wendenvswütendenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wenden is a verb, wütenden is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wenden” is a verb and “wütenden” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,554
“wenden” frequency rank
#25,847
“wütenden” frequency rank
29401
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wenden wütenden
Definition Vergangenheitsform „wendete“ Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs wütend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wenden and wütenden apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
wenden
8 ch
wütenden

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wenden is [ˈvɛndn̩] while wütenden is [ˈvyːtn̩dən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wenden is recorded at frequency rank #3,554, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛndn̩]. wütenden is at rank #25,847, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvyːtn̩dən].

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 29401, this pair ranks #1,767,462 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wenden vs wütenden

Shared letters: denw. Private to "wenden": -. Private to "wütenden": .

"wenden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "wütenden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wendenewnden · wednen · wendden · wendenn · wendne · wenedn · wennden · wneden

Frequency comparison

wenden#3,554
wütenden#25,847

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wenden" and "wütenden" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wenden" is a verb and "wütenden" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wenden" or "wütenden"?
"wenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,554 in our German list, against #25,847 for "wütenden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wenden vs wütenden

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “wenden”; for an adjective, it's “wütenden”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wenden” 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