wachtvswaschWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,011
“wacht” frequency rank
#22,959
“wasch” frequency rank
32970
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wacht wasch
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wachen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs waschen

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
wacht
5 ch
wasch

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wacht ([vaxt]) and wasch ([vaʃ]) 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 32970, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wacht is recorded at frequency rank #10,011, classified as averb, pronounced [vaxt]. wasch is at rank #22,959, tagged as averb, pronounced [vaʃ].

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 32970, this pair ranks #1,696,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wacht vs wasch

Shared letters: achw. Private to "wacht": t. Private to "wasch": s.

"wacht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "wasch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wachtawcht · waccht · wachht · wachtt · wahct · wcaht · wwacht
  • waschawsch · wascch · waschh · washc · wassch · wsach · wwasch

Frequency comparison

wacht#10,011
wasch#22,959

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wacht" and "wasch" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vaxt] versus [vaʃ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wacht" or "wasch"?
"wacht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,011 in our German list, against #22,959 for "wasch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wacht vs wasch

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 “wacht” 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