waschvswaschenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,959
“wasch” frequency rank
#4,844
“waschen” frequency rank
27803
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wasch waschen
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs waschen mit Wasser oder einer anderen Flüssigkeit reinigen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wasch and waschen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wasch
7 ch
waschen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wasch ([vaʃ]) and waschen ([ˈvaʃn̩]) 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) - “wasch” sits inside “waschen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27803, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wasch is recorded at frequency rank #22,959, classified as averb, pronounced [vaʃ]. waschen is at rank #4,844, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʃn̩].

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 27803, this pair ranks #1,795,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wasch vs waschen

Shared letters: achsw. Private to "wasch": -. Private to "waschen": en.

"wasch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "waschen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waschawsch · wascch · waschh · washc · wassch · wsach · wwasch
  • waschenawschen · wascchen · wascehn · waschenn · waschhen · waschne · washcen · wasschen

Frequency comparison

wasch#22,959
waschen#4,844

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wasch" and "waschen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vaʃ] versus [ˈvaʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wasch" or "waschen"?
"waschen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,844 in our German list, against #22,959 for "wasch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wasch vs waschen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wasch” 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