wäschtvsweichtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,778
“wäscht” frequency rank
#14,994
“weicht” frequency rank
34772
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wäscht weicht
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs waschen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs weichen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
wäscht
6 ch
weicht

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wäscht ([vɛʃt]) and weicht ([vaɪ̯çt]) 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 34772, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wäscht is recorded at frequency rank #19,778, classified as averb, pronounced [vɛʃt]. weicht is at rank #14,994, tagged as averb, pronounced [vaɪ̯çt].

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 34772, this pair ranks #1,655,643 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wäscht vs weicht

Shared letters: chtw. Private to "wäscht": . Private to "weicht": ei.

"wäscht" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "weicht" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weichtewicht · weciht · weiccht · weichht · weichtt · weicth · weihct · wiecht

Frequency comparison

wäscht#19,778
weicht#14,994

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wäscht" and "weicht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vɛʃt] versus [vaɪ̯çt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wäscht" or "weicht"?
"weicht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,994 in our German list, against #19,778 for "wäscht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wäscht vs weicht

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 “wäscht” 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