wirkenvsWirteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wirken is a verb, Wirte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wirken” is a verb and “Wirte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,533
“wirken” frequency rank
#30,395
“Wirte” frequency rank
31928
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wirken Wirte
Definition tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Wirt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wirken and Wirte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
wirken
5 ch
Wirte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wirken is [ˈvɪʁkn̩] while Wirte is [ˈvɪʁtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31928, 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]. Wirte is at rank #30,395, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɪʁtə].

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 31928, this pair ranks #1,718,221 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wirken vs Wirte

Shared letters: eirw. Private to "wirken": kn. Private to "Wirte": t.

"wirken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Wirte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wirkeniwrken · wikren · wirekn · wirkenn · wirkken · wirkne · wirrken · wriken
  • Wirteiwrte · wiret · wirrte · wirtte · witre · wwirte

Frequency comparison

wirken#1,533
Wirte#30,395

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wirken" and "Wirte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wirken" is a verb and "Wirte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wirken" or "Wirte"?
"wirken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,533 in our German list, against #30,395 for "Wirte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering wirken vs Wirte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “wirken”; for a noun, it's “Wirte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wirken” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list