VorwahlvsVorwahlenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#32,854
“Vorwahl” frequency rank
#49,370
“Vorwahlen” frequency rank
82224
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorwahl Vorwahlen
Definition Nummer für bestimmte Orte und Länder, die der eigentlichen Telefonnummer vorangestellt wird Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vorwahl

Where the eye mixes Vorwahl and Vorwahlen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Vorwahl runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against Vorwahlen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Vorwahl
9 ch
Vorwahlen

Visual trap between Vorwahl and Vorwahlen

A purely visual mix-up. Vorwahl ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvaːl]) and Vorwahlen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvaːlən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Vorwahl” sits inside “Vorwahlen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorwahl is recorded at frequency rank #32,854, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvaːl]. Vorwahlen is at rank #49,370, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvaːlən].

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 82224, this pair ranks #161,099 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Vorwahl vs Vorwahlen

Shared letters: ahlorvw. Private to "Vorwahl": -. Private to "Vorwahlen": en.

"Vorwahl" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Vorwahlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorwahl ← ovrwahl · vorawhl · vorrwahl · vorwahhl · vorwahll · vorwalh · vorwhal · vorwwahl
  • Vorwahlen ← ovrwahlen · vorawhlen · vorrwahlen · vorwaheln · vorwahhlen · vorwahlenn · vorwahllen · vorwahlne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vorwahl" and "Vorwahlen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvaːl] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvaːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Vorwahl" vs "Vorwahlen" - which ranks higher?
"Vorwahl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,854 in our German list, against #49,370 for "Vorwahlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Vorwahl" and "Vorwahlen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorwahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorwahlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #161,099 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vorwahl" and "Vorwahlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwahren vs Vorwahlen". 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 #161,099 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