Which to use
“Wache” is a noun and “wash” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,485
- “Wache” frequency rank
- #44,357
- “wash” frequency rank
- 52842
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wache | wash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Beobachtung von jemandem oder etwas zwecks Kontrolle oder zur Erhöhung der Sicherheit | waschen, säubern |
Where the eye mixes Wache and wash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Wache runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against wash's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Wache vs wash
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Wache is [ˈvaxə] while wash is [wɒʃ]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52842, 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]. wash is at rank #44,357, tagged as averb, pronounced [wɒʃ].
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 52842, this pair ranks #1,081,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Wache vs wash
Shared letters: ahw. Private to "Wache": ce. Private to "wash": s.
"Wache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "wash" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Wache" and "wash" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Wache" or "wash" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Wache" and "wash" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Wache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wash" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,081,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wache" and "wash" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wash 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 #1,081,184 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.