Which to use
“wählen” and “weilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #984
- “wählen” frequency rank
- #47,125
- “weilen” frequency rank
- 48109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wählen | weilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich für eine von mehreren Möglichkeiten entscheiden | sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben |
Where the eye mixes wählen and weilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wählen (CVCCVC) and weilen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: wählen vs weilen
A purely visual mix-up. wählen ([ˈvɛːlən]) and weilen ([ˈvaɪ̯lən]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wählen is recorded at frequency rank #984, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːlən]. weilen is at rank #47,125, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯lən].
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 48109, this pair ranks #1,260,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wählen vs weilen
Shared letters: elnw. Private to "wählen": hä. Private to "weilen": i.
"wählen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- weilen ← ewilen · weieln · weilenn · weillen · weilne · welien · wielen · wweilen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wählen" and "weilen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wählen" or "weilen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "wählen" and "weilen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wählen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,260,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wählen" and "weilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs Weines". 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 #1,260,510 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.