WerdsvsWerkeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#45,695
“Werds” frequency rank
#1,530
“Werke” frequency rank
47225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Werds Werke
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Werd Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Werk

Where the eye mixes Werds and Werke

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

5 ch
Werds
5 ch
Werke

Visual trap between Werds and Werke

A purely visual mix-up. Werds ([vɛʁt͡s]) and Werke ([ˈvɛʁkə]) 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 47225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Werds is recorded at frequency rank #45,695, classified as anoun, pronounced [vɛʁt͡s]. Werke is at rank #1,530, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛʁkə].

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 47225, this pair ranks #1,291,888 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Werds vs Werke

Shared letters: erw. Private to "Werds": ds. Private to "Werke": k.

"Werds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Werke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Werdsewrds · wedrs · werdds · werdss · werrds · wersd · wreds · wwerds
  • Werkeewrke · wekre · werek · werkke · werrke · wreke · wwerke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Werds" for "Werke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([vɛʁt͡s] versus [ˈvɛʁkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Werds" or "Werke" show up more?
"Werke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,530 in our German list, against #45,695 for "Werds". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Werds" and "Werke" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Werds" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Werke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,291,888 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Werds" and "Werke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Weins vs Werds". 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 #1,291,888 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