WurfvsWurstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,363
“Wurf” frequency rank
#5,901
“Wurst” frequency rank
17264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Wurf Wurst
Definition Vorgang, Ergebnis einer Handlung, bei der ein Gegenstand unter Kraftaufwand über eine gewisse Entfernung durch die Luft befördert wird längliches Fleischprodukt; meist eine Paste aus Tierfleisch in einen Tierdarm gepresst

Where the eye mixes Wurf and Wurst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Wurf
5 ch
Wurst

Visual trap between Wurf and Wurst

A purely visual mix-up. Wurf ([vʊʁf]) and Wurst ([vʊʁst]) 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 17264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Wurf is recorded at frequency rank #11,363, classified as anoun, pronounced [vʊʁf]. Wurst is at rank #5,901, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vʊʁst].

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 17264, this pair ranks #1,928,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Wurf vs Wurst

Shared letters: ruw. Private to "Wurf": f. Private to "Wurst": st.

"Wurf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Wurst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wurfuwrf · wruf · wufr · wurff · wurrf · wwurf
  • Wurstuwrst · wrust · wurrst · wursst · wurstt · wurts · wusrt · wwurst

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Wurf" and "Wurst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vʊʁf] versus [vʊʁst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Wurf" vs "Wurst" - which ranks higher?
"Wurst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,901 in our German list, against #11,363 for "Wurf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Wurf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Wurst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,928,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Wurf" and "Wurst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wurf vs Würth". 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 #1,928,938 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list