wirken

[ˈvɪʁkn̩]

/[ˈvɪʁkn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“wirken” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #1,533. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,533
frequency rank, German
2,930
“W” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen

Corpus desk

Index DE-wirken · wirken · German

wirken · rank #1,533 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,533
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,930
  • PHOTO-FINISH Wiener

Nearest frequency peer: Wiener (-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 „wirken“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „wirken“ 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).

wirken vs wirkt
67% similar
wirken vs Wirte
50% similar
wirken vs wirre
67% similar

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

Key facts for wirken
PropertyValue
Headwordwirken
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈvɪʁkn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,533
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „wirken“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).wirkenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Wiener“ (#1,532), „allgemeinen“ (#1,534), „wichtiger“ (#1,531). Unter 2,930 „W“-Lemmata liegt „wirken“ bei #1,533. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around wirken (IPA [ˈvɪʁkn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,533 among 2,930 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for wirken, with forms such as "iwrken", "wikren", and "wirekn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wirkt", "Wirte", "wirre", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is wirken, spelled W-I-R-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen
  2. 2
    eine Wirkung entfalten
  3. 3
    einen Eindruck erwecken
  4. 4
    Textilien (Wirkware) nach einem Wirkverfahren herstellen
  5. 5
    Gewebe mit eingearbeiteten Bildern oder Mustern herstellen
  6. 6
    einen Teig durchkneten

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how wirken appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Wir wirken für den Frieden und den Schutz der Umwelt.
  2. Die Medizin wirkt bei mir nicht.

Synonyms

tätigseinnützlichschaffenvollbringenmachenherstellenproduzierennutzeneinsetzenengagierenscheinenerscheinenknetenwalken

Antonyms

untätig

This word in other languages

work(English)trabajar(Español)agir(Français)operar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwrken
  • wikren
  • wirekn
  • wirkenn
  • wirkken
  • wirkne
  • wirrken
  • wriken
  • wwirken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iwrken2wikren2wirekn2wirkenn1wirkken1wirkne2wirrken1wriken2
Edit distance from "wirken"

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 "wirken"?
"wirken" is spelled W-I-R-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈvɪʁkn̩].
What does "wirken" mean?
As a verb, "wirken" means: tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen
What words are commonly confused with "wirken"?
"wirken" is commonly confused with "wirkt", "Wirte", "wirre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wirken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wirken" is [ˈvɪʁkn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "wirken" come from?
"wirken" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "wirken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Wiener#1,532Verlag#1,528längst#1,520erhält#1,548

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

extrem9 variantserstes9 variantsKarten9 variantsreichen9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list