Which to use
“winke” and “wirken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,873
- “winke” frequency rank
- #1,533
- “wirken” frequency rank
- 34406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | winke | wirken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs winken | tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen |
Where the eye mixes winke and wirken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. winke runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against wirken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between winke and wirken
A purely visual mix-up. winke ([ˈvɪŋkə]) and wirken ([ˈvɪʁkn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34406, 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]. wirken is at rank #1,533, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪʁkn̩].
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 34406, this pair ranks #1,664,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of winke vs wirken
Shared letters: eiknw. Private to "winke": -. Private to "wirken": r.
"winke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "wirken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "winke" and "wirken" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "winke" vs "wirken" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "winke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wirken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,664,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "winke" and "wirken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wickel vs winke". 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 #1,664,055 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.