wachsenvswählenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,868
“wachsen” frequency rank
#984
“wählen” frequency rank
3852
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wachsen wählen
Definition allmählich größer werden; von der Größe, vom Umfang her zunehmen sich für eine von mehreren Möglichkeiten entscheiden

Where the eye mixes wachsen and wählen

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

7 ch
wachsen
6 ch
wählen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wachsen ([ˈvaksn̩]) and wählen ([ˈvɛːlən]) 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 3852, 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]. wählen is at rank #984, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːlən].

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 3852, this pair ranks #1,999,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wachsen vs wählen

Shared letters: ehnw. Private to "wachsen": acs. Private to "wählen": .

"wachsen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "wählen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wachsen" and "wählen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaksn̩] versus [ˈvɛːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wachsen" or "wählen"?
"wählen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #984 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