winkvswinkteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,970
“wink” frequency rank
#37,900
“winkte” frequency rank
60870
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wink winkte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs winken 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs winken

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
wink
6 ch
winkte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wink ([vɪŋk]) and winkte ([ˈvɪŋktə]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “wink” sits inside “winkte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60870, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wink is recorded at frequency rank #22,970, classified as averb, pronounced [vɪŋk]. winkte is at rank #37,900, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪŋktə].

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 60870, this pair ranks #770,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wink vs winkte

Shared letters: iknw. Private to "wink": -. Private to "winkte": et.

"wink" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "winkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • winkiwnk · wikn · winkk · winnk · wnik · wwink
  • winkteiwnkte · wiknte · winket · winkkte · winktte · winnkte · wintke · wnikte

Frequency comparison

wink#22,970
winkte#37,900

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wink" and "winkte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vɪŋk] versus [ˈvɪŋktə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wink" or "winkte"?
"wink" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,970 in our German list, against #37,900 for "winkte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wink vs winkte

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 “wink” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list