wachsenvswächstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,868
“wachsen” frequency rank
#2,751
“wächst” frequency rank
5619
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wachsen wächst
Definition allmählich größer werden; von der Größe, vom Umfang her zunehmen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wachsen

Where the eye mixes wachsen and wächst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

7 ch
wachsen
6 ch
wächst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wachsen ([ˈvaksn̩]) and wächst ([vɛkst]) 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 5619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wachsen is recorded at frequency rank #2,868, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaksn̩]. wächst is at rank #2,751, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɛkst].

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 5619, this pair ranks #1,994,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wachsen vs wächst

Shared letters: chsw. Private to "wachsen": aen. Private to "wächst": .

"wachsen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "wächst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wachsenawchsen · wacchsen · wachesn · wachhsen · wachsenn · wachsne · wachssen · wacshen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wachsen" and "wächst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaksn̩] versus [vɛkst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wachsen" or "wächst"?
"wächst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,751 in our German list, against #2,868 for "wachsen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list