Which to use
“wähle” and “wühlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,853
- “wähle” frequency rank
- #30,397
- “wühlen” frequency rank
- 38250
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wähle | wühlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wählen | meist mit technischen Hilfsmitteln im Erdboden graben |
Where the eye mixes wähle and wühlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wähle runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against wühlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wähle and wühlen
A purely visual mix-up. wähle ([ˈvɛːlə]) and wühlen ([ˈvyːlən]) 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 38250, 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]. wühlen is at rank #30,397, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvyːlən].
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 38250, this pair ranks #1,568,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wähle vs wühlen
Shared letters: ehlw. Private to "wähle": ä. Private to "wühlen": nü.
"wähle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "wühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wähle" and "wühlen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "wähle" or "wühlen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wähle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wühlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,568,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wähle" and "wühlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs wühlen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,568,856 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.