Which to use
“waschen” and “wäscht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,844
- “waschen” frequency rank
- #19,778
- “wäscht” frequency rank
- 24622
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | waschen | wäscht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Wasser oder einer anderen Flüssigkeit reinigen | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs waschen |
Where the eye mixes waschen and wäscht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. waschen runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against wäscht's 6 (CVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between waschen and wäscht
A purely visual mix-up. waschen ([ˈvaʃn̩]) and wäscht ([vɛʃt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
waschen is recorded at frequency rank #4,844, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaʃn̩]. wäscht is at rank #19,778, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɛʃt].
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 24622, this pair ranks #1,845,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of waschen vs wäscht
Shared letters: chsw. Private to "waschen": aen. Private to "wäscht": tä.
"waschen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "wäscht" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- waschen ← awschen · wascchen · wascehn · waschenn · waschhen · waschne · washcen · wasschen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "waschen" for "wäscht" ever safe?
Frequency check: "waschen" vs "wäscht" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "waschen" and "wäscht" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "waschen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wäscht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,845,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "waschen" and "wäscht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wäscht vs wash". 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 #1,845,036 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.