Which to use
“word” and “world” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,661
- “word” frequency rank
- #2,374
- “world” frequency rank
- 11035
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | word | world |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleinste selbstständige bedeutungstragende Einheit der Sprache | kein Plural: der Planet Erde |
Where the eye mixes word and world
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: word vs world
A purely visual mix-up. word ([wɜːd]) and world ([wɜː(ɹ)ld]) 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 11035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
word is recorded at frequency rank #8,661, classified as anoun, pronounced [wɜːd]. world is at rank #2,374, tagged as anoun, pronounced [wɜː(ɹ)ld].
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 11035, this pair ranks #1,972,030 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of word vs world
Shared letters: dorw. Private to "word": -. Private to "world": l.
"word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "world" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "word" for "world" ever safe?
Which is more common, "word" or "world"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "word" and "world" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "word" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "world" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,030 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "word" and "world" 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 #1,972,030 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.