Which to use
“winken” and “winkte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,881
- “winken” frequency rank
- #37,900
- “winkte” frequency rank
- 54781
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | winken | winkte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zur Begrüßung, zum Abschied oder, um Aufmerksamkeit zu erregen, mit der Hand in der Luft wedeln | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs winken |
Where the eye mixes winken and winkte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. winken (CVCCVC) and winkte (CVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: winken vs winkte
A purely visual mix-up. winken ([ˈvɪŋkn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54781, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
winken is recorded at frequency rank #16,881, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪŋkn̩]. 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 54781, this pair ranks #1,005,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of winken vs winkte
Shared letters: eiknw. Private to "winken": -. Private to "winkte": t.
"winken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "winkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "winken" and "winkte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "winken" or "winkte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "winken" and "winkte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "winken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "winkte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,005,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "winken" and "winkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "winke vs winkte". 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 #1,005,307 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.