Which to use
“wachte” and “wagte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,862
- “wachte” frequency rank
- #17,464
- “wagte” frequency rank
- 48326
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wachte | wagte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wachen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wagen |
Where the eye mixes wachte and wagte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wachte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against wagte's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wachte and wagte
A purely visual mix-up. wachte ([ˈvaxtə]) and wagte ([ˈvaːktə]) 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 48326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wachte is recorded at frequency rank #30,862, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaxtə]. wagte is at rank #17,464, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaːktə].
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 48326, this pair ranks #1,252,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wachte vs wagte
Shared letters: aetw. Private to "wachte": ch. Private to "wagte": g.
"wachte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "wagte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wachte" for "wagte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wachte" or "wagte"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "wachte" and "wagte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wachte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wagte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,252,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wachte" and "wagte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wachte 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 #1,252,663 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.