werdvswettWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,525
“werd” frequency rank
#20,792
“wett” frequency rank
23317
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature werd wett
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs werden 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wetten

Where the eye mixes werd and wett

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
werd
4 ch
wett

Visual trap between werd and wett

A purely visual mix-up. werd ([veːɐ̯t]) and wett ([vɛt]) 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 23317, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

werd is recorded at frequency rank #2,525, classified as averb, pronounced [veːɐ̯t]. wett is at rank #20,792, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɛt].

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 23317, this pair ranks #1,862,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of werd vs wett

Shared letters: ew. Private to "werd": dr. Private to "wett": t.

"werd" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "wett" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • werdewrd · wedr · werdd · werrd · wred · wwerd
  • wettewtt · wtet · wwett

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "werd" for "wett" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([veːɐ̯t] versus [vɛt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "werd" vs "wett" - which ranks higher?
"werd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,525 in our German list, against #20,792 for "wett". 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 "werd" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wett" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,862,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "werd" and "wett" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "went vs wett". 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 #1,862,837 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