wählevsWohleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wähle is a verb, Wohle is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wähle” is a verb and “Wohle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,853
“wähle” frequency rank
#15,000
“Wohle” frequency rank
22853
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wähle Wohle
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wählen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Wohl

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wähle and Wohle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wähle
5 ch
Wohle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wähle is [ˈvɛːlə] while Wohle is [ˈvoːlə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - ä in “wähle” becomes o in “Wohle”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22853, 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]. Wohle is at rank #15,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvoːlə].

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 22853, this pair ranks #1,868,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wähle vs Wohle

Shared letters: ehlw. Private to "wähle": ä. Private to "Wohle": o.

"wähle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Wohle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wohleowhle · whole · wohel · wohhle · wohlle · wolhe · wwohle

Frequency comparison

wähle#7,853
Wohle#15,000

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wähle" and "Wohle" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wähle" is a verb and "Wohle" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wähle" or "Wohle"?
"wähle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,853 in our German list, against #15,000 for "Wohle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wähle vs Wohle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “wähle”; for a noun, it's “Wohle”.
  • 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