winkevswinnerWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,873
“winke” frequency rank
#32,368
“winner” frequency rank
65241
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature winke winner
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs winken Gewinner, Sieger

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
winke
6 ch
winner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: winke is [ˈvɪŋkə] while winner is [ˈwɪnə]. 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 65241, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

winke is recorded at frequency rank #32,873, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪŋkə]. winner is at rank #32,368, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈwɪnə].

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 65241, this pair ranks #613,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of winke vs winner

Shared letters: einw. Private to "winke": k. Private to "winner": r.

"winke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "winner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • winkeiwnke · wikne · winek · winkke · winnke · wnike · wwinke
  • winneriwnner · winenr · winer · winnerr · winnre · wniner · wwinner

Frequency comparison

winke#32,873
winner#32,368

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "winke" and "winner" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "winke" is a verb and "winner" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "winke" or "winner"?
"winner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,368 in our German list, against #32,873 for "winke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering winke vs winner

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “winke”; for a noun, it's “winner”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “winke” 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