Which to use
“wirke” is a verb and “works” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,774
- “wirke” frequency rank
- #22,219
- “works” frequency rank
- 41993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wirke | works |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wirken | Plural des Substantivs work |
Where the eye mixes wirke and works
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. wirke (CVCCV) and works (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between wirke and works
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wirke is [ˈvɪʁkə] while works is [wɜːks]. 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 41993, 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]. works is at rank #22,219, tagged as anoun, pronounced [wɜːks].
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 41993, this pair ranks #1,462,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wirke vs works
Shared letters: krw. Private to "wirke": ei. Private to "works": os.
"wirke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "works" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wirke" and "works" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wirke" or "works"?
What to do next
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 "works" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,462,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wirke" and "works" 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 #1,462,864 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.