wähltenvswährteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,468
“wählten” frequency rank
#39,738
“währte” frequency rank
54206
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wählten währte
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wählen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs währen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wählten and währte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
wählten
6 ch
währte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wählten ([ˈvɛːltn̩]) and währte ([ˈvɛːɐ̯tə]) 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 54206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wählten is recorded at frequency rank #14,468, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːltn̩]. währte is at rank #39,738, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːɐ̯tə].

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 54206, this pair ranks #1,027,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wählten vs währte

Shared letters: ehtwä. Private to "wählten": ln. Private to "währte": r.

"wählten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "währte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Frequency comparison

wählten#14,468
währte#39,738

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wählten" and "währte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛːltn̩] versus [ˈvɛːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wählten" or "währte"?
"wählten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,468 in our German list, against #39,738 for "währte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wählten vs währte

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 “wählten” 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