würzevswürzenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#28,953
“würze” frequency rank
#29,878
“würzen” frequency rank
58831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature würze würzen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs würzen den Geschmack von Speisen mit Hilfe verschiedenster Zutaten, zum Beispiel Kräutern, Salz, Pfeffer und Ähnlichem beeinflussen

Where the eye mixes würze and würzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. würze runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against würzen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
würze
6 ch
würzen

Why the eye confuses würze with würzen

A purely visual mix-up. würze ([ˈvʏʁt͡sə]) and würzen ([ˈvʏʁt͡sn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “würze” sits inside “würzen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

würze is recorded at frequency rank #28,953, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvʏʁt͡sə]. würzen is at rank #29,878, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvʏʁt͡sn̩].

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 58831, this pair ranks #847,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of würze vs würzen

Shared letters: erwzü. Private to "würze": -. Private to "würzen": n.

"würze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "würzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "würze" and "würzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvʏʁt͡sə] versus [ˈvʏʁt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "würze" vs "würzen" - which ranks higher?
"würze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,953 in our German list, against #29,878 for "würzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "würze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "würzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #847,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "würze" and "würzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "würzen vs würzig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #847,645 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