WinkelvswinkteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#5,048
“Winkel” frequency rank
#37,900
“winkte” frequency rank
42948
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Winkel winkte
Definition Stellung zweier Linien oder Flächen zueinander 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs winken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Winkel and winkte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Winkel
6 ch
winkte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Winkel is [ˈvɪŋkl̩] while winkte is [ˈvɪŋktə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42948, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Winkel is recorded at frequency rank #5,048, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɪŋkl̩]. 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 42948, this pair ranks #1,433,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Winkel vs winkte

Shared letters: eiknw. Private to "Winkel": l. Private to "winkte": t.

"Winkel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "winkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Winkeliwnkel · wiknel · winekl · winkell · winkkel · winkle · winnkel · wnikel
  • winkteiwnkte · wiknte · winket · winkkte · winktte · winnkte · wintke · wnikte

Frequency comparison

Winkel#5,048
winkte#37,900

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Winkel" and "winkte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Winkel" is a noun and "winkte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Winkel" or "winkte"?
"Winkel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,048 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 Winkel vs winkte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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