wählevswarneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,853
“wähle” frequency rank
#33,389
“warne” frequency rank
41242
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wähle warne
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wählen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs warnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wähle and warne apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wähle
5 ch
warne

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wähle ([ˈvɛːlə]) and warne ([ˈvaʁnə]) 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 41242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wähle is recorded at frequency rank #7,853, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːlə]. warne is at rank #33,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁnə].

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 41242, this pair ranks #1,485,239 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wähle vs warne

Shared letters: ew. Private to "wähle": hlä. Private to "warne": anr.

"wähle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "warne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • warneawrne · wanre · wrane · wwarne

Frequency comparison

wähle#7,853
warne#33,389

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wähle" and "warne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛːlə] versus [ˈvaʁnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wähle" or "warne"?
"wähle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,853 in our German list, against #33,389 for "warne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wähle vs warne

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 “wähle” 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