Which to use
“wirksam” is an adjective and “wirkst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,697
- “wirksam” frequency rank
- #38,527
- “wirkst” frequency rank
- 46224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wirksam | wirkst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bestimmte aktive Wirkung habend, hervorrufend | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wirken |
Where the eye mixes wirksam and wirkst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. wirksam runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against wirkst's 6 (CVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wirksam and wirkst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wirksam is [ˈvɪʁkˌzaːm] while wirkst is [vɪʁkst]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wirksam is recorded at frequency rank #7,697, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪʁkˌzaːm]. 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 46224, this pair ranks #1,326,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wirksam vs wirkst
Shared letters: ikrsw. Private to "wirksam": am. Private to "wirkst": t.
"wirksam" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "wirkst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wirksam" and "wirkst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "wirksam" or "wirkst"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wirksam" 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 #1,326,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wirksam" 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 #1,326,408 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.