währenvswehreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,465
“währen” frequency rank
#35,548
“wehre” frequency rank
70013
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature währen wehre
Definition sich über eine Zeitspanne erstrecken 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wehren

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
währen
5 ch
wehre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. währen ([ˈvɛːʁən]) and wehre ([ˈveːʁə]) 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 70013, 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]. wehre is at rank #35,548, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈveːʁə].

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 70013, this pair ranks #459,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of währen vs wehre

Shared letters: ehrw. Private to "währen": . Private to "wehre": -.

"währen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "wehre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wehreewhre · weher · wehhre · wehrre · werhe · wwehre

Frequency comparison

währen#34,465
wehre#35,548

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "währen" and "wehre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛːʁən] versus [ˈveːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "währen" or "wehre"?
"währen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,465 in our German list, against #35,548 for "wehre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering währen vs wehre

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