wähltvswaleWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,697
“wählt” frequency rank
#23,369
“wale” frequency rank
27066
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wählt wale
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wählen Rippe, Salleiste, feste Webkante

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
wählt
4 ch
wale

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: wählt is averb and waleanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27066, 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]. wale is at rank #23,369, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 27066, this pair ranks #1,807,903 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wählt vs wale

Shared letters: lw. Private to "wählt": htä. Private to "wale": ae.

"wählt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "wale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waleawle · wael · walle · wlae · wwale

Frequency comparison

wählt#3,697
wale#23,369

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wählt" and "wale" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wählt" is a verb and "wale" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wählt" or "wale"?
"wählt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,697 in our German list, against #23,369 for "wale". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wählt vs wale

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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