Which to use
“wirke” and “wirkten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,774
- “wirke” frequency rank
- #11,786
- “wirkten” frequency rank
- 31560
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wirke | wirkten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wirken | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wirken |
Where the eye mixes wirke and wirkten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. wirke runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against wirkten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wirke and wirkten
A purely visual mix-up. wirke ([ˈvɪʁkə]) and wirkten ([ˈvɪʁktn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wirke is recorded at frequency rank #19,774, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪʁkə]. wirkten is at rank #11,786, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪʁktn̩].
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 31560, this pair ranks #1,725,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wirke vs wirkten
Shared letters: eikrw. Private to "wirke": -. Private to "wirkten": nt.
"wirke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "wirkten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wirke" and "wirkten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "wirke" vs "wirkten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wirke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wirkten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,725,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wirke" and "wirkten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wickel vs wirke". 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 #1,725,641 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.