Which to use
“Wal” and “waltz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,758
- “Wal” frequency rank
- #35,544
- “waltz” frequency rank
- 54302
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wal | waltz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | oft sehr großes, im Wasser lebendes Säugetier (Ordnung Cetacea) | langsamer Gesellschaftstanz im Dreivierteltakt; English Waltz, langsamer Walzer |
Where the eye mixes Wal and waltz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Wal runs 3 letters (CVC) against waltz's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Wal and waltz
A purely visual mix-up. Wal ([vaːl]) and waltz ([valt͡s]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Wal” sits inside “waltz”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wal is recorded at frequency rank #18,758, classified as anoun, pronounced [vaːl]. waltz is at rank #35,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced [valt͡s].
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 54302, this pair ranks #1,024,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Wal vs waltz
Shared letters: alw. Private to "Wal": -. Private to "waltz": tz.
"Wal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "waltz" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- waltz ← awltz · walltz · walttz · waltzz · walzt · watlz · wlatz · wwaltz
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Wal" for "waltz" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Wal" or "waltz"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Wal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "waltz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,024,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wal" and "waltz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "waltz vs waste". 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 #1,024,133 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.