Which to use
“wählte” and “wollte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,490
- “wählte” frequency rank
- #298
- “wollte” frequency rank
- 8788
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wählte | wollte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wählen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wollen |
Where the eye mixes wählte and wollte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wählte and wollte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between wählte and wollte
A purely visual mix-up. wählte ([ˈvɛːltə]) and wollte ([ˈvɔltə]) 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 8788, 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]. wollte is at rank #298, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɔltə].
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 8788, this pair ranks #1,982,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wählte vs wollte
Shared letters: eltw. Private to "wählte": hä. Private to "wollte": o.
"wählte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "wollte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- wollte ← owllte · wlolte · wollet · wolltte · wolte · woltle · wwollte
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wählte" and "wollte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wählte" or "wollte"?
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 "wählte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wollte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,982,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wählte" and "wollte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wählte vs waste". 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 #1,982,837 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.