wähltenvswaldenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,468
“wählten” frequency rank
#39,714
“walden” frequency rank
54182
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wählten walden
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wählen Waldarbeiten verrichten, vom Reisigsammeln bis zum Abholzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wählten and walden apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
wählten
6 ch
walden

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wählten ([ˈvɛːltn̩]) and walden ([ˈvaldn̩]) 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 54182, 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]. walden is at rank #39,714, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaldn̩].

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 54182, this pair ranks #1,028,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wählten vs walden

Shared letters: elnw. Private to "wählten": htä. Private to "walden": ad.

"wählten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "walden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waldenawlden · wadlen · waldden · waldenn · waldne · waledn · wallden · wladen

Frequency comparison

wählten#14,468
walden#39,714

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wählten" and "walden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛːltn̩] versus [ˈvaldn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wählten" or "walden"?
"wählten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,468 in our German list, against #39,714 for "walden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wählten vs walden

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