Which to use
“word” is a noun and “Worms” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,661
- “word” frequency rank
- #12,418
- “Worms” frequency rank
- 21079
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | word | Worms |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleinste selbstständige bedeutungstragende Einheit der Sprache | eine Stadt in Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland |
Where the eye mixes word and Worms
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses word with Worms
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: word is [wɜːd] while Worms is [vɔʁms]. 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 (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21079, 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]. Worms is at rank #12,418, tagged as aname, pronounced [vɔʁms].
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 21079, this pair ranks #1,890,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of word vs Worms
Shared letters: orw. Private to "word": d. Private to "Worms": ms.
"word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Worms" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "word" and "Worms" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "word" vs "Worms" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "word" and "Worms" 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 "Worms" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,890,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "word" and "Worms" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Werds vs Worms". 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 #1,890,398 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.