wähltenvswaltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,468
“wählten” frequency rank
#20,786
“walten” frequency rank
35254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wählten walten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wählen eine bestimmende oder herrschende Funktion erfüllen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
wählten
6 ch
walten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wählten ([ˈvɛːltn̩]) and walten ([ˈvaltn̩]) 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 35254, 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]. walten is at rank #20,786, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaltn̩].

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 35254, this pair ranks #1,644,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wählten vs walten

Shared letters: elntw. Private to "wählten": . Private to "walten": a.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waltenawlten · waletn · wallten · waltenn · waltne · waltten · watlen · wlaten

Frequency comparison

wählten#14,468
walten#20,786

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wählten" and "walten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛːltn̩] versus [ˈvaltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wählten" or "walten"?
"wählten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,468 in our German list, against #20,786 for "walten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wählten vs walten

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