Which to use
“Wachs” is a noun and “wash” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,790
- “Wachs” frequency rank
- #44,357
- “wash” frequency rank
- 60147
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wachs | wash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ester aus Fettsäuren und langkettigen Alkoholen | waschen, säubern |
Where the eye mixes Wachs and wash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Wachs runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against wash's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Wachs and wash
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Wachs is [vaks] 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 60147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wachs is recorded at frequency rank #15,790, classified as anoun, pronounced [vaks]. 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 60147, this pair ranks #797,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Wachs vs wash
Shared letters: ahsw. Private to "Wachs": c. Private to "wash": -.
"Wachs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "wash" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Wachs" and "wash" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Wachs" or "wash" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Wachs" 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 #797,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wachs" 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 #797,771 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.