Which to use
“walten” is a verb and “waltz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,786
- “walten” frequency rank
- #35,544
- “waltz” frequency rank
- 56330
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | walten | waltz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bestimmende oder herrschende Funktion erfüllen | langsamer Gesellschaftstanz im Dreivierteltakt; English Waltz, langsamer Walzer |
Where the eye mixes walten and waltz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. walten runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against waltz's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses walten with waltz
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: walten is [ˈvaltn̩] while waltz is [valt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
walten is recorded at frequency rank #20,786, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaltn̩]. 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 56330, this pair ranks #944,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of walten vs waltz
Shared letters: altw. Private to "walten": en. Private to "waltz": z.
"walten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "waltz" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "walten" for "waltz" ever safe?
Frequency check: "walten" vs "waltz" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "walten" and "waltz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "walten" 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 #944,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "walten" 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 #944,488 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.