Which to use
“wagten” is a verb and “Waisen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,900
- “wagten” frequency rank
- #26,233
- “Waisen” frequency rank
- 60133
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wagten | Waisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wagen | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Waise |
Where the eye mixes wagten and Waisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wagten (CVCCVC) and Waisen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses wagten with Waisen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wagten is [ˈvaːktn̩] while Waisen is [ˈvaɪ̯zn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60133, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wagten is recorded at frequency rank #33,900, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaːktn̩]. Waisen is at rank #26,233, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯zn̩].
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 60133, this pair ranks #798,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wagten vs Waisen
Shared letters: aenw. Private to "wagten": gt. Private to "Waisen": is.
"wagten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Waisen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wagten" for "Waisen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wagten" or "Waisen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wagten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Waisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #798,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wagten" and "Waisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wagten 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 #798,282 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.