Which to use
“were” and “work” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,071
- “were” frequency rank
- #7,425
- “work” frequency rank
- 20496
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | were | work |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular simple past des Verbs be | einer (meist festen) bezahlten Arbeit nachgehen; arbeiten |
Where the eye mixes were and work
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses were with work
A purely visual mix-up. were ([wɜː]) and work ([wɜːk]) 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 20496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
were is recorded at frequency rank #13,071, classified as averb, pronounced [wɜː]. work is at rank #7,425, tagged as averb, pronounced [wɜːk].
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 20496, this pair ranks #1,897,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of were vs work
Shared letters: rw. Private to "were": e. Private to "work": ko.
"were" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "work" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "were" and "work" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "were" or "work"?
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 "were" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "work" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,897,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "were" and "work" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "went vs were". 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 #1,897,024 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.