Which to use
“wünscht” and “wünschten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,555
- “wünscht” frequency rank
- #24,581
- “wünschten” frequency rank
- 28136
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wünscht | wünschten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wünschen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wünschen |
Where the eye mixes wünscht and wünschten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. wünscht runs 7 letters (CVCCCCC) against wünschten's 9 (CVCCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses wünscht with wünschten
A purely visual mix-up. wünscht ([vʏnʃt]) and wünschten ([ˈvʏnʃtn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “wünscht” sits inside “wünschten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28136, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wünscht is recorded at frequency rank #3,555, classified as averb, pronounced [vʏnʃt]. wünschten is at rank #24,581, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvʏnʃtn̩].
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 28136, this pair ranks #1,789,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wünscht vs wünschten
Shared letters: chnstwü. Private to "wünscht": -. Private to "wünschten": e.
"wünscht" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCC · "wünschten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wünscht" and "wünschten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "wünscht" vs "wünschten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wünscht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wünschten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,789,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wünscht" and "wünschten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wünscht vs wusch". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,789,937 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.