währenvswarfenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,465
“währen” frequency rank
#13,980
“warfen” frequency rank
48445
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature währen warfen
Definition sich über eine Zeitspanne erstrecken 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs werfen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
währen
6 ch
warfen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. währen ([ˈvɛːʁən]) and warfen ([ˈvaʁfn̩]) 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 48445, 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]. warfen is at rank #13,980, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʁfn̩].

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 48445, this pair ranks #1,248,338 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of währen vs warfen

Shared letters: enrw. Private to "währen": . Private to "warfen": af.

"währen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "warfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • warfenawrfen · wafren · warefn · warfenn · warffen · warfne · warrfen · wrafen

Frequency comparison

währen#34,465
warfen#13,980

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "währen" and "warfen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛːʁən] versus [ˈvaʁfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "währen" or "warfen"?
"warfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,980 in our German list, against #34,465 for "währen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering währen vs warfen

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 “währen” 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