Which to use
“währen” and “waren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,465
- “währen” frequency rank
- #115
- “waren” frequency rank
- 34580
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | währen | waren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich über eine Zeitspanne erstrecken | 1. Person Plural Präteritum Indikativ Aktiv des Verbs sein |
Where the eye mixes währen and waren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between währen and waren
A purely visual mix-up. währen ([ˈvɛːʁən]) and waren ([ˈvaːʁən]) 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 34580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
währen is recorded at frequency rank #34,465, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛːʁən]. waren is at rank #115, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaːʁən].
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 34580, this pair ranks #1,660,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of währen vs waren
Shared letters: enrw. Private to "währen": hä. Private to "waren": a.
"währen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "waren" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- waren ← awren · waern · warenn · wraen · wwaren
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "währen" for "waren" ever safe?
Which is more common, "währen" or "waren"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "währen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "waren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,660,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "währen" and "waren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "währen vs Warzen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,660,024 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.