Which to use
“wirken” and “wirkst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,533
- “wirken” frequency rank
- #38,527
- “wirkst” frequency rank
- 40060
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wirken | wirkst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wirken |
Where the eye mixes wirken and wirkst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wirken (CVCCVC) and wirkst (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: wirken vs wirkst
A purely visual mix-up. wirken ([ˈvɪʁkn̩]) and wirkst ([vɪʁkst]) 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 40060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wirken is recorded at frequency rank #1,533, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪʁkn̩]. wirkst is at rank #38,527, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɪʁkst].
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 40060, this pair ranks #1,519,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wirken vs wirkst
Shared letters: ikrw. Private to "wirken": en. Private to "wirkst": st.
"wirken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "wirkst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wirken" and "wirkst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "wirken" or "wirkst"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wirken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wirkst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,519,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wirken" and "wirkst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wichst vs wirkst". 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 #1,519,162 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.