willst vs wirkst, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#643
“willst” frequency rank: #38,527
“wirkst” frequency rank: 39170
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	willst	wirkst
Definition	2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wollen	2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wirken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set willst and wirkst apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

willst

6 ch

wirkst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. willst ([vɪlst]) and wirkst ([vɪʁkst]) 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 39170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

willst is recorded at frequency rank #643, classified as averb, pronounced [vɪlst]. wirkst is at rank #38,527, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɪʁkst].

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 39170, this pair ranks #1,544,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of willst vs wirkst

Shared letters: istw. Private to "willst": l. Private to "wirkst": kr.

"willst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "wirkst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

willst ← iwllst · willsst · willstt · willts · wilslt · wilst · wlilst · wwillst
wirkst ← iwrkst · wikrst · wirkkst · wirksst · wirkstt · wirkts · wirrkst · wirskt

Frequency comparison

willst#643

wirkst#38,527

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "willst" and "wirkst" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([vɪlst] versus [vɪʁkst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "willst" or "wirkst"?

"willst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #643 in our German list, against #38,527 for "wirkst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering willst vs wirkst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “willst” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable