wächst vs wachte, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,751
“wächst” frequency rank: #30,862
“wachte” frequency rank: 33613
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	wächst	wachte
Definition	2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wachsen	1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wachen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

wächst

6 ch

wachte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wächst ([vɛkst]) and wachte ([ˈvaxtə]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33613, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wächst is recorded at frequency rank #2,751, classified as averb, pronounced [vɛkst]. wachte is at rank #30,862, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaxtə].

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 33613, this pair ranks #1,681,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wächst vs wachte

Shared letters: chtw. Private to "wächst": sä. Private to "wachte": ae.

"wächst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "wachte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

wachte ← awchte · wacchte · wachet · wachhte · wachtte · wacthe · wahcte · wcahte

Frequency comparison

wächst#2,751

wachte#30,862

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wächst" and "wachte" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([vɛkst] versus [ˈvaxtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "wächst" or "wachte"?

"wächst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,751 in our German list, against #30,862 for "wachte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering wächst vs wachte

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 “wächst” entry
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