WaldevswaltzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Walde is a name, waltz is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Walde” is a name and “waltz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,990
“Walde” frequency rank
#35,544
“waltz” frequency rank
60534
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Walde waltz
Definition deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname langsamer Gesellschaftstanz im Dreivierteltakt; English Waltz, langsamer Walzer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Walde and waltz apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Walde
5 ch
waltz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Walde is [ˈvaldə] while waltz is [valt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Walde is recorded at frequency rank #24,990, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈvaldə]. 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 60534, this pair ranks #783,445 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Walde vs waltz

Shared letters: alw. Private to "Walde": de. Private to "waltz": tz.

"Walde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "waltz" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Waldeawlde · wadle · waldde · waled · wallde · wlade · wwalde
  • waltzawltz · walltz · walttz · waltzz · walzt · watlz · wlatz · wwaltz

Frequency comparison

Walde#24,990
waltz#35,544

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Walde" and "waltz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Walde" is a name and "waltz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Walde" or "waltz"?
"Walde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,990 in our German list, against #35,544 for "waltz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Walde vs waltz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Walde”; for a noun, it's “waltz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Walde” 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