wachsevswichstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#39,127
“wachse” frequency rank
#45,699
“wichst” frequency rank
84826
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes wachse and wichst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wachse (CVCCCV) and wichst (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
wachse
6 ch
wichst

Visual trap between wachse and wichst

A purely visual mix-up. wachse ([ˈvaksə]) and wichst ([vɪkst]) 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 84826, 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]. wichst is at rank #45,699, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɪkst].

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 84826, this pair ranks #117,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of wachse vs wichst

Shared letters: chsw. Private to "wachse": ae. Private to "wichst": it.

"wachse" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "wichst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wachse ← awchse · wacchse · waches · wachhse · wachsse · wacshe · wahcse · wcahse
  • wichst ← iwchst · wcihst · wicchst · wichhst · wichsst · wichstt · wichts · wihcst

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "wachse" and "wichst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaksə] versus [vɪkst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wachse" or "wichst"?
"wachse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,127 in our German list, against #45,699 for "wichst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "wachse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wichst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #117,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wachse" and "wichst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wichse vs wichst". 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 #117,639 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list