Which to use
“wählten” and “wühlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,468
- “wählten” frequency rank
- #30,397
- “wühlen” frequency rank
- 44865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wählten | wühlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wählen | meist mit technischen Hilfsmitteln im Erdboden graben |
Where the eye mixes wählten and wühlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. wählten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against wühlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: wählten vs wühlen
A purely visual mix-up. wählten ([ˈvɛːltn̩]) and wühlen ([ˈvyːlən]) 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 44865, 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]. wühlen is at rank #30,397, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvyːlən].
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 44865, this pair ranks #1,372,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wählten vs wühlen
Shared letters: ehlnw. Private to "wählten": tä. Private to "wühlen": ü.
"wählten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "wühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wählten" and "wühlen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "wählten" vs "wühlen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "wählten" and "wühlen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wählten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wühlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,372,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wählten" and "wühlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs wühlen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,372,176 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.