wähltevsWaldeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wählte is a verb, Walde is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wählte” is a verb and “Walde” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,490
“wählte” frequency rank
#24,990
“Walde” frequency rank
33480
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wählte Walde
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wählen deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wählte and Walde apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
wählte
5 ch
Walde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wählte is [ˈvɛːltə] while Walde is [ˈvaldə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wählte is recorded at frequency rank #8,490, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːltə]. Walde is at rank #24,990, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈvaldə].

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 33480, this pair ranks #1,685,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wählte vs Walde

Shared letters: elw. Private to "wählte": htä. Private to "Walde": ad.

"wählte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Walde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Waldeawlde · wadle · waldde · waled · wallde · wlade · wwalde

Frequency comparison

wählte#8,490
Walde#24,990

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wählte" and "Walde" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wählte" is a verb and "Walde" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wählte" or "Walde"?
"wählte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,490 in our German list, against #24,990 for "Walde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wählte vs Walde

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “wählte”; for a name, it's “Walde”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wählte” 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