Which to use
“wertlos” and “wortlos” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,525
- “wertlos” frequency rank
- #37,314
- “wortlos” frequency rank
- 52839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wertlos | wortlos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne Wert, keinen Wert habend | ohne Worte, ohne etwas zu sagen |
Where the eye mixes wertlos and wortlos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. wertlos and wortlos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses wertlos with wortlos
A purely visual mix-up. wertlos ([ˈveːɐ̯tˌloːs]) and wortlos ([ˈvɔʁtloːs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “wertlos” becomes o in “wortlos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wertlos is recorded at frequency rank #15,525, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈveːɐ̯tˌloːs]. wortlos is at rank #37,314, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɔʁtloːs].
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 52839, this pair ranks #1,081,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wertlos vs wortlos
Shared letters: lorstw. Private to "wertlos": e. Private to "wortlos": -.
"wertlos" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "wortlos" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wertlos" for "wortlos" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wertlos" or "wortlos"?
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 "wertlos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wortlos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,081,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wertlos" and "wortlos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "worlds vs wortlos". 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 #1,081,306 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.