Which to use
“word” and “wurd” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,661
- “word” frequency rank
- #25,845
- “wurd” frequency rank
- 34506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | word | wurd |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleinste selbstständige bedeutungstragende Einheit der Sprache | kleinste selbstständige bedeutungstragende Einheit der Sprache; Wort |
Where the eye mixes word and wurd
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses word with wurd
A purely visual mix-up. word ([wɜːd]) and wurd ([vøt]) 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 a single letter - o in “word” becomes u in “wurd”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34506, 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]. wurd is at rank #25,845, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vøt].
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 34506, this pair ranks #1,661,817 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of word vs wurd
Shared letters: drw. Private to "word": o. Private to "wurd": u.
"word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wurd" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "word" for "wurd" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "word" or "wurd" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "word" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wurd" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,661,817 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "word" and "wurd" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Werds vs wurd". 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 #1,661,817 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.