Which to use
“wolf” and “word” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,277
- “wolf” frequency rank
- #8,661
- “word” frequency rank
- 10938
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wolf | word |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wolf | kleinste selbstständige bedeutungstragende Einheit der Sprache |
Where the eye mixes wolf and word
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. wolf and word follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses wolf with word
A purely visual mix-up. wolf ([wʊłf]) and word ([wɜːd]) 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 10938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wolf is recorded at frequency rank #2,277, classified as anoun, pronounced [wʊłf]. word is at rank #8,661, tagged as anoun, pronounced [wɜːd].
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 10938, this pair ranks #1,972,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wolf vs word
Shared letters: ow. Private to "wolf": fl. Private to "word": dr.
"wolf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wolf" for "word" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wolf" or "word"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "wolf" and "word" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wolf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "word" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wolf" and "word" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Werds vs word". 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 #1,972,547 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.