wundernvswunderteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“wundern” and “wunderte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,554
“wundern” frequency rank
#26,255
“wunderte” frequency rank
31809
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wundern wunderte
Definition etwas Unerwartetes erstaunt oder irritiert (verwundert) jemanden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wundern

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wundern and wunderte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
wundern
8 ch
wunderte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wundern ([ˈvʊndɐn]) and wunderte ([ˈvʊndɐtə]) 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 31809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wundern is recorded at frequency rank #5,554, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvʊndɐn]. wunderte is at rank #26,255, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvʊndɐtə].

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 31809, this pair ranks #1,720,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wundern vs wunderte

Shared letters: denruw. Private to "wundern": -. Private to "wunderte": t.

"wundern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "wunderte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wundernuwndern · wnudern · wudnern · wunddern · wundenr · wundernn · wunderrn · wundren
  • wunderteuwnderte · wnuderte · wudnerte · wundderte · wunderet · wunderrte · wundertte · wundetre

Frequency comparison

wundern#5,554
wunderte#26,255

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wundern" and "wunderte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvʊndɐn] versus [ˈvʊndɐtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wundern" or "wunderte"?
"wundern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,554 in our German list, against #26,255 for "wunderte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wundern vs wunderte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wundern” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list