wähltenvswarntenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,468
“wählten” frequency rank
#47,846
“warnten” frequency rank
62314
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wählten warnten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wählen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs warnen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
wählten
7 ch
warnten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wählten ([ˈvɛːltn̩]) and warnten ([ˈvaʁntn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62314, 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]. warnten is at rank #47,846, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁntn̩].

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 62314, this pair ranks #717,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wählten vs warnten

Shared letters: entw. Private to "wählten": hlä. Private to "warnten": ar.

"wählten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "warnten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • warntenawrnten · wanrten · warnetn · warnnten · warntenn · warntne · warntten · warrnten

Frequency comparison

wählten#14,468
warnten#47,846

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wählten" and "warnten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛːltn̩] versus [ˈvaʁntn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wählten" or "warnten"?
"wählten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,468 in our German list, against #47,846 for "warnten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wählten vs warnten

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