Which to use
“wacht” and “wash” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,011
- “wacht” frequency rank
- #44,357
- “wash” frequency rank
- 54368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wacht | wash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wachen | waschen, säubern |
Where the eye mixes wacht and wash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. wacht runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against wash's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wacht and wash
A purely visual mix-up. wacht ([vaxt]) and wash ([wɒʃ]) 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 54368, 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]. wash is at rank #44,357, tagged as averb, pronounced [wɒʃ].
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 54368, this pair ranks #1,021,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wacht vs wash
Shared letters: ahw. Private to "wacht": ct. Private to "wash": s.
"wacht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "wash" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wacht" and "wash" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "wacht" or "wash"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wacht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wash" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,021,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wacht" and "wash" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wash vs waste". 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 #1,021,694 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.