Which to use
“wacht” and “wäscht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,011
- “wacht” frequency rank
- #19,778
- “wäscht” frequency rank
- 29789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wacht | wäscht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wachen | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs waschen |
Where the eye mixes wacht and wäscht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wacht runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against wäscht's 6 (CVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wacht and wäscht
A purely visual mix-up. wacht ([vaxt]) and wäscht ([vɛʃt]) 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 29789, 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]. wäscht is at rank #19,778, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɛʃt].
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 29789, this pair ranks #1,760,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wacht vs wäscht
Shared letters: chtw. Private to "wacht": a. Private to "wäscht": sä.
"wacht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "wäscht" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wacht ← awcht · waccht · wachht · wachtt · wahct · wcaht · wwacht
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wacht" and "wäscht" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "wacht" vs "wäscht" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wacht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wäscht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,760,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wacht" and "wäscht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wäscht vs wash". 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 #1,760,279 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.