werfenvsWerftenConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#2,095
“werfen” frequency rank
#45,696
“Werften” frequency rank
47791
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature werfen Werften
Definition etwas in eine bestimmte Richtung schleudern Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Werft

Where the eye mixes werfen and Werften

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
werfen
7 ch
Werften

Visual trap between werfen and Werften

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: werfen is [ˈvɛʁfn̩] while Werften is [ˈvɛʁftn̩]. 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 47791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

werfen is recorded at frequency rank #2,095, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛʁfn̩]. Werften is at rank #45,696, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛʁftn̩].

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 47791, this pair ranks #1,271,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of werfen vs Werften

Shared letters: efnrw. Private to "werfen": -. Private to "Werften": t.

"werfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Werften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • werfenewrfen · wefren · werefn · werfenn · werffen · werfne · werrfen · wrefen
  • Werftenewrften · wefrten · werfetn · werfften · werftenn · werftne · werftten · werrften

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "werfen" and "Werften" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "werfen" is a verb and "Werften" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "werfen" or "Werften" show up more?
"werfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,095 in our German list, against #45,696 for "Werften". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "werfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Werften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,271,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "werfen" and "Werften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warnten vs Werften". 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 #1,271,862 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