Which to use
“wau” is an intj and “what” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,137
- “wau” frequency rank
- #4,752
- “what” frequency rank
- 43889
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wau | what |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Laut, der beim Bellen eines Hundes entsteht | was? |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wau and what apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wau is [vaʊ̯] while what is [wɒt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wau is recorded at frequency rank #39,137, classified as anintj, pronounced [vaʊ̯]. what is at rank #4,752, tagged as apron, pronounced [wɒt].
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 43889, this pair ranks #1,403,737 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wau vs what
Shared letters: aw. Private to "wau": u. Private to "what": ht.
"wau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "what" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- what ← hwat · waht · whatt · whhat · whta · wwhat
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wau" and "what" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wau" or "what"?
Remembering wau vs what
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “wau”; for a pronoun, it's “what”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wau” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable