waltzvsWarteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,544
“waltz” frequency rank
#2,043
“Warte” frequency rank
37587
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature waltz Warte
Definition langsamer Gesellschaftstanz im Dreivierteltakt; English Waltz, langsamer Walzer Wartturm in einem mittelalterlichen Befestigungs- und Sicherungssystem

Where the eye mixes waltz and Warte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. waltz (CVCCC) and Warte (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
waltz
5 ch
Warte

Visual trap between waltz and Warte

A purely visual mix-up. waltz ([valt͡s]) and Warte ([ˈvaʁtə]) 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 37587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

waltz is recorded at frequency rank #35,544, classified as anoun, pronounced [valt͡s]. Warte is at rank #2,043, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaʁtə].

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 37587, this pair ranks #1,586,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of waltz vs Warte

Shared letters: atw. Private to "waltz": lz. Private to "Warte": er.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waltz ← awltz · walltz · walttz · waltzz · walzt · watlz · wlatz · wwaltz
  • Warte ← awrte · waret · warrte · wartte · watre · wrate · wwarte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "waltz" and "Warte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([valt͡s] versus [ˈvaʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "waltz" or "Warte" show up more?
"Warte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,043 in our German list, against #35,544 for "waltz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "waltz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Warte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,586,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "waltz" and "Warte" 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 #1,586,286 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list