Which to use
“wahr” is an adjective and “währen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,376
- “wahr” frequency rank
- #34,465
- “währen” frequency rank
- 35841
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wahr | währen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Wahrheit, Wirklichkeit, den Tatsachen entsprechend; wirklich geschehen, nicht ausgedacht oder erfunden | sich über eine Zeitspanne erstrecken |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wahr and währen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wahr is [vaːɐ̯] while währen is [ˈvɛːʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wahr is recorded at frequency rank #1,376, classified as anadj, pronounced [vaːɐ̯]. währen is at rank #34,465, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːʁən].
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 35841, this pair ranks #1,630,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wahr vs währen
Shared letters: hrw. Private to "wahr": a. Private to "währen": enä.
"wahr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "währen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wahr ← awhr · wahhr · wahrr · warh · whar · wwahr
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wahr" and "währen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wahr" or "währen"?
Remembering wahr vs währen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “wahr”; for a verb, it's “währen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wahr” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable