Which to use
“wachen” and “weihen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,970
- “wachen” frequency rank
- #36,119
- “weihen” frequency rank
- 47089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wachen | weihen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht schlafen, ohne Schlaf bleiben | eine Person durch besondere religiöse Handlungen in ein Amt einführen |
Where the eye mixes wachen and weihen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wachen (CVCCVC) and weihen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between wachen and weihen
A purely visual mix-up. wachen ([ˈvaxn̩]) and weihen ([ˈvaɪ̯ən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wachen is recorded at frequency rank #10,970, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaxn̩]. weihen is at rank #36,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯ən].
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 47089, this pair ranks #1,296,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wachen vs weihen
Shared letters: ehnw. Private to "wachen": ac. Private to "weihen": i.
"wachen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "weihen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wachen" for "weihen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wachen" or "weihen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "wachen" and "weihen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weihen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,296,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wachen" and "weihen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weihen vs weilen". 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 #1,296,546 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.