Which to use
“wa” is a particle and “wem” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,747
- “wa” frequency rank
- #2,002
- “wem” frequency rank
- 8749
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wa | wem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | verschliffene Floskel für die eingeschobene, rhetorische Frage „Gelt es?“, „Gilt es?“, „Habe ich recht?“ oder „Nicht wahr?“, „Stimmt es?“, um sich der (vorausgesetzten) Zustimmung zu versichern. Die Frage wird nicht oder nur mit der gleichen Floskel beantwortet. | Dativ von wer |
Where the eye mixes wa and wem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: wa vs wem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wa is [vɑ̃] while wem is [veːm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8749, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wa is recorded at frequency rank #6,747, classified as aparticle, pronounced [vɑ̃]. wem is at rank #2,002, tagged as apron, pronounced [veːm].
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 8749, this pair ranks #1,983,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wa vs wem
Shared letters: w. Private to "wa": a. Private to "wem": em.
"wa" · 2 letters · shape CV · "wem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wa" for "wem" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "wa" or "wem" show up more?
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 "wa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,983,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wa" and "wem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wa vs wig". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,983,015 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.