Which to use
“wählen” and “warnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #984
- “wählen” frequency rank
- #6,129
- “warnen” frequency rank
- 7113
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wählen | warnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich für eine von mehreren Möglichkeiten entscheiden | jemanden auf eine Gefahr aufmerksam machen |
Where the eye mixes wählen and warnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wählen and warnen
A purely visual mix-up. wählen ([ˈvɛːlən]) and warnen ([ˈvaʁnən]) 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 7113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wählen is recorded at frequency rank #984, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːlən]. warnen is at rank #6,129, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁnən].
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 7113, this pair ranks #1,989,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wählen vs warnen
Shared letters: enw. Private to "wählen": hlä. Private to "warnen": ar.
"wählen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "warnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- warnen ← awrnen · wanren · warnenn · warnne · warnnen · warrnen · wranen · wwarnen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wählen" and "warnen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "wählen" or "warnen" show up more?
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 "wählen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "warnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wählen" and "warnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "warnen vs warnten". 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 #1,989,342 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.