wirdvswurdeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“wird” and “wurde” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43
“wird” frequency rank
#76
“wurde” frequency rank
119
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wird wurde
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs werden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs werden

Where the eye mixes wird and wurde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
wird
5 ch
wurde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wird ([vɪʁt]) and wurde ([ˈvʊʁdə]) 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 119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wird is recorded at frequency rank #43, classified as averb, pronounced [vɪʁt]. wurde is at rank #76, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvʊʁdə].

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 119, this pair ranks #2,006,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wird vs wurde

Shared letters: drw. Private to "wird": i. Private to "wurde": eu.

"wird" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "wurde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wirdiwrd · widr · wirdd · wirrd · wrid · wwird
  • wurdeuwrde · wrude · wudre · wurdde · wured · wurrde · wwurde

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wird" and "wurde" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vɪʁt] versus [ˈvʊʁdə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wird" or "wurde"?
"wird" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43 in our German list, against #76 for "wurde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list