werfevsWurfConfusable pair

Quick tell: werfe is a verb, Wurf is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“werfe” is a verb and “Wurf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,739
“werfe” frequency rank
#11,363
“Wurf” frequency rank
25102
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature werfe Wurf
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs werfen Vorgang, Ergebnis einer Handlung, bei der ein Gegenstand unter Kraftaufwand über eine gewisse Entfernung durch die Luft befördert wird

Where the eye mixes werfe and Wurf

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

5 ch
werfe
4 ch
Wurf

Why the eye confuses werfe with Wurf

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: werfe is [ˈvɛʁfə] while Wurf is [vʊʁf]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

werfe is recorded at frequency rank #13,739, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛʁfə]. Wurf is at rank #11,363, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vʊʁf].

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 25102, this pair ranks #1,838,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of werfe vs Wurf

Shared letters: frw. Private to "werfe": e. Private to "Wurf": u.

"werfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Wurf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • werfeewrfe · wefre · weref · werffe · werrfe · wrefe · wwerfe
  • Wurfuwrf · wruf · wufr · wurff · wurrf · wwurf

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "werfe" for "Wurf" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "werfe" is a verb and "Wurf" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "werfe" or "Wurf"?
"Wurf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,363 in our German list, against #13,739 for "werfe". 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 "werfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Wurf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,838,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "werfe" and "Wurf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "welke vs werfe". 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 #1,838,141 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