were

[wɜː]

/[wɜː]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“were” has 5 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #13,071. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,071
frequency rank, German
2,930
“W” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 2. Person Singular simple past des Verbs be

Corpus desk

Index DE-were · were · German

were · rank #13,071 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,071
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,930
  • PHOTO-FINISH weiterhelfen

Nearest frequency peer: weiterhelfen (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „were“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „were“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

were vs WR
0% similar
were vs wie
50% similar
were vs wir
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for were
PropertyValue
Headwordwere
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[wɜː]
Letters4
Frequency rank#13,071
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „were“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.wereliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „weiterhelfen“ (#13,070), „Wichtigkeit“ (#13,072), „Weihnachtsmarkt“ (#13,069). Unter 2,930 „W“-Lemmata liegt „were“ bei #13,071. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around were (IPA [wɜː]), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,071 among 2,930 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for were, with forms such as "ewre", "weer", and "werre". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "WR", "wie", "wir", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is were, spelled W-E-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    2. Person Singular simple past des Verbs be
  2. 2
    1. Person Plural simple past des Verbs be
  3. 3
    2. Person Plural simple past des Verbs be
  4. 4
    3. Person Plural simple past des Verbs be
  5. 5
    1. Person Singular past subjunctive des Verbs be
  6. 6
    2. Person Singular past subjunctive des Verbs be
  7. 7
    3. Person Singular past subjunctive des Verbs be
  8. 8
    1. Person Plural past subjunctive des Verbs be
  9. 9
    2. Person Plural past subjunctive des Verbs be
  10. 10
    3. Person Plural past subjunctive des Verbs be

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewre
  • weer
  • werre
  • wree
  • wwere

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of were - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ewre2weer2werre1wree2wwere1
Edit distance from "were"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "were"?
"were" is spelled W-E-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [wɜː].
What does "were" mean?
As a verb, "were" means: 2. Person Singular simple past des Verbs be
What words are commonly confused with "were"?
"were" is commonly confused with "WR", "wie", "wir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "were"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "were" is [wɜː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "were" come from?
"were" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "were", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

view#13,061very#13,060Urin#13,049area#13,094

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Egon5 variantssaid5 variantsroom5 variantsNora5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list