WendungenvsWerbungenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,238
“Wendungen” frequency rank
#45,694
“Werbungen” frequency rank
71932
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Wendungen Werbungen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Wendung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Werbung

Where the eye mixes Wendungen and Werbungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
Wendungen
9 ch
Werbungen

Why the eye confuses Wendungen with Werbungen

A purely visual mix-up. Wendungen ([ˈvɛndʊŋən]) and Werbungen ([ˈvɛʁbʊŋən]) 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 71932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Wendungen is recorded at frequency rank #26,238, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛndʊŋən]. Werbungen is at rank #45,694, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛʁbʊŋən].

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 71932, this pair ranks #402,624 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Wendungen vs Werbungen

Shared letters: egnuw. Private to "Wendungen": d. Private to "Werbungen": br.

"Wendungen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "Werbungen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wendungenewndungen · wednungen · wenddungen · wendnugen · wendugnen · wendunegn · wendungenn · wendunggen
  • Werbungenewrbungen · webrungen · werbbungen · werbnugen · werbugnen · werbunegn · werbungenn · werbunggen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Wendungen" and "Werbungen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛndʊŋən] versus [ˈvɛʁbʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Wendungen" vs "Werbungen" - which ranks higher?
"Wendungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,238 in our German list, against #45,694 for "Werbungen". 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 "Wendungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Werbungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #402,624 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Wendungen" and "Werbungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Weisungen vs Werbungen". 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 #402,624 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