Which to use
“wirken” and “wirkten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,533
- “wirken” frequency rank
- #11,786
- “wirkten” frequency rank
- 13319
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wirken | wirkten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wirken |
Where the eye mixes wirken and wirkten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. wirken runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against wirkten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses wirken with wirkten
A purely visual mix-up. wirken ([ˈvɪʁkn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13319, 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]. 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 13319, this pair ranks #1,958,731 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wirken vs wirkten
Shared letters: eiknrw. Private to "wirken": -. Private to "wirkten": t.
"wirken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "wirkten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wirken" and "wirkten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "wirken" or "wirkten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "wirken" and "wirkten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wirken" 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 #1,958,731 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wirken" and "wirkten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warnten vs wirkten". 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 #1,958,731 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.