Which to use
“wing” is a noun and “wit” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,772
- “wing” frequency rank
- #45,706
- “wit” frequency rank
- 65478
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wing | wit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Körperteil eines Tieres, der zum Fliegen befähigen kann; Flügel | von weißer Farbe |
Where the eye mixes wing and wit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: wing vs wit
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wing is [wɪŋ] while wit is [wɪt]. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wing is recorded at frequency rank #19,772, classified as anoun, pronounced [wɪŋ]. wit is at rank #45,706, tagged as anadv, pronounced [wɪt].
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 65478, this pair ranks #605,544 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wing vs wit
Shared letters: iw. Private to "wing": gn. Private to "wit": t.
"wing" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wit" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wing ← iwng · wign · wingg · winng · wnig · wwing
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wing" for "wit" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wing" vs "wit" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #605,544 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wing" and "wit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "went vs wit". 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 #605,544 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.