wirken
[ˈvɪʁkn̩]
The verdict
“wirken” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #1,533 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #1,533
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wirken |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈvɪʁkn̩] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #1,533 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wirken” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for wirken is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈvɪʁkn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,533 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1tätig sein, nützlich sein, etwas schaffen, etwas vollbringen
- 2eine Wirkung entfalten
- 3einen Eindruck erwecken
- 4Textilien (Wirkware) nach einem Wirkverfahren herstellen
- 5Gewebe mit eingearbeiteten Bildern oder Mustern herstellen
- 6einen Teig durchkneten
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
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.
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"?
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Using “wirken”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is W-I-R-K-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈvɪʁkn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “wirkt” - see the side-by-side comparison. wirken vs wirkt
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.