Which to use
“wann” is an adverb and “wash” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #592
- “wann” frequency rank
- #44,357
- “wash” frequency rank
- 44949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wann | wash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu welchem Zeitpunkt | waschen, säubern |
Where the eye mixes wann and wash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. wann and wash follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: wann vs wash
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wann is [van] while wash is [wɒʃ]. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wann is recorded at frequency rank #592, classified as anadv, pronounced [van]. wash is at rank #44,357, tagged as averb, pronounced [wɒʃ].
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 44949, this pair ranks #1,369,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wann vs wash
Shared letters: aw. Private to "wann": n. Private to "wash": hs.
"wann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wash" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wann" for "wash" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "wann" or "wash" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "wann" and "wash" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wann" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wash" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,369,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wann" and "wash" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wash 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 #1,369,367 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.