Which to use
“Wache” and “Wake” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,485
- “Wache” frequency rank
- #28,014
- “Wake” frequency rank
- 36499
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wache | Wake |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Beobachtung von jemandem oder etwas zwecks Kontrolle oder zur Erhöhung der Sicherheit | natürliche Öffnung in der Eisdecke, zumeist eines Flusses oder Sees, die zuweilen auch zeitweise oberflächlich leicht zufrieren kann |
Where the eye mixes Wache and Wake
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Wache runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Wake's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Wache vs Wake
A purely visual mix-up. Wache ([ˈvaxə]) and Wake ([ˈvaːkə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36499, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wache is recorded at frequency rank #8,485, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaxə]. Wake is at rank #28,014, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaːkə].
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 36499, this pair ranks #1,614,093 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Wache vs Wake
Shared letters: aew. Private to "Wache": ch. Private to "Wake": k.
"Wache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Wake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Wache" and "Wake" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Wache" or "Wake" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Wache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Wake" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,614,093 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wache" and "Wake" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wake vs waste". 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 #1,614,093 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.