winkevsWolkeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,873
“winke” frequency rank
#10,595
“Wolke” frequency rank
43468
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature winke Wolke
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs winken große Ansammlung von Wasserteilchen in der Troposphäre

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set winke and Wolke apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
winke
5 ch
Wolke

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: winke is [ˈvɪŋkə] while Wolke is [ˈvɔlkə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43468, 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]. Wolke is at rank #10,595, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɔlkə].

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 43468, this pair ranks #1,417,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of winke vs Wolke

Shared letters: ekw. Private to "winke": in. Private to "Wolke": lo.

"winke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Wolke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • winkeiwnke · wikne · winek · winkke · winnke · wnike · wwinke
  • Wolkeowlke · wloke · wokle · wolek · wolkke · wollke · wwolke

Frequency comparison

winke#32,873
Wolke#10,595

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "winke" and "Wolke" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "winke" is a verb and "Wolke" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "winke" or "Wolke"?
"Wolke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,595 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 Wolke

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 “Wolke”.
  • 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