Which to use
“währen” and “wühlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,465
- “währen” frequency rank
- #30,397
- “wühlen” frequency rank
- 64862
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | währen | wühlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich über eine Zeitspanne erstrecken | meist mit technischen Hilfsmitteln im Erdboden graben |
Where the eye mixes währen and wühlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. währen and wühlen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: währen vs wühlen
A purely visual mix-up. währen ([ˈvɛːʁən]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64862, 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]. 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 64862, this pair ranks #626,656 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of währen vs wühlen
Shared letters: ehnw. Private to "währen": rä. Private to "wühlen": lü.
"währen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "wühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "währen" and "wühlen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "währen" or "wühlen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "währen" and "wühlen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "währen" 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 #626,656 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "währen" and "wühlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs wühlen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #626,656 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.