wachsevswachtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“wachse” and “wacht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,127
“wachse” frequency rank
#10,011
“wacht” frequency rank
49138
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wachse wacht
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wachsen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wachen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wachse and wacht apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
wachse
5 ch
wacht

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wachse ([ˈvaksə]) and wacht ([vaxt]) 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 49138, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wachse is recorded at frequency rank #39,127, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaksə]. wacht is at rank #10,011, tagged as averb, pronounced [vaxt].

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 49138, this pair ranks #1,222,689 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wachse vs wacht

Shared letters: achw. Private to "wachse": es. Private to "wacht": t.

"wachse" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "wacht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wachseawchse · wacchse · waches · wachhse · wachsse · wacshe · wahcse · wcahse
  • wachtawcht · waccht · wachht · wachtt · wahct · wcaht · wwacht

Frequency comparison

wachse#39,127
wacht#10,011

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wachse" and "wacht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaksə] versus [vaxt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wachse" or "wacht"?
"wacht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,011 in our German list, against #39,127 for "wachse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wachse vs wacht

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wachse” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list