Which to use
“Wunsch” is a noun and “wünschte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,579
- “Wunsch” frequency rank
- #4,013
- “wünschte” frequency rank
- 5592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wunsch | wünschte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Ersehnen von etwas | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wünschen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Wunsch and wünschte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Wunsch is [vʊnʃ] while wünschte is [ˈvʏnʃtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wunsch is recorded at frequency rank #1,579, classified as anoun, pronounced [vʊnʃ]. wünschte is at rank #4,013, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvʏnʃtə].
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 5592, this pair ranks #1,994,289 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Wunsch vs wünschte
Shared letters: chnsw. Private to "Wunsch": u. Private to "wünschte": etü.
"Wunsch" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "wünschte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Wunsch ← uwnsch · wnusch · wuncsh · wunnsch · wunscch · wunschh · wunshc · wunssch
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Wunsch" and "wünschte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Wunsch" or "wünschte"?
Remembering Wunsch vs wünschte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Wunsch”; for a verb, it's “wünschte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Wunsch” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable