wähltvswaitWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,697
“wählt” frequency rank
#20,121
“wait” frequency rank
23818
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wählt wait
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wählen warten, abwarten

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
wählt
4 ch
wait

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wählt ([vɛːlt]) and wait ([weɪt]) 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 23818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wählt is recorded at frequency rank #3,697, classified as averb, pronounced [vɛːlt]. wait is at rank #20,121, tagged as averb, pronounced [weɪt].

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 23818, this pair ranks #1,856,204 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wählt vs wait

Shared letters: tw. Private to "wählt": hlä. Private to "wait": ai.

"wählt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "wait" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waitawit · waitt · wati · wiat · wwait

Frequency comparison

wählt#3,697
wait#20,121

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wählt" and "wait" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vɛːlt] versus [weɪt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wählt" or "wait"?
"wählt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,697 in our German list, against #20,121 for "wait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wählt vs wait

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 “wählt” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list