waschvsWischWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wasch is a verb, Wisch is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wasch” is a verb and “Wisch” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,959
“wasch” frequency rank
#27,137
“Wisch” frequency rank
50096
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wasch Wisch
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs waschen Schriftstück, das als wertlos betrachtet wird, häufig von Behörden und offiziellen Stellen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wasch and Wisch apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wasch
5 ch
Wisch

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wasch is [vaʃ] while Wisch is [vɪʃ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “wasch” becomes i in “Wisch”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50096, 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]. Wisch is at rank #27,137, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vɪʃ].

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 50096, this pair ranks #1,186,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wasch vs Wisch

Shared letters: chsw. Private to "wasch": a. Private to "Wisch": i.

"wasch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Wisch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waschawsch · wascch · waschh · washc · wassch · wsach · wwasch
  • Wischiwsch · wicsh · wiscch · wischh · wishc · wissch · wsich · wwisch

Frequency comparison

wasch#22,959
Wisch#27,137

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wasch" and "Wisch" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wasch" is a verb and "Wisch" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wasch" or "Wisch"?
"wasch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,959 in our German list, against #27,137 for "Wisch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wasch vs Wisch

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “wasch”; for a noun, it's “Wisch”.
  • 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