Which to use
“wedeln” and “wehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,037
- “wedeln” frequency rank
- #13,067
- “wehen” frequency rank
- 58104
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wedeln | wehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Körperteil oder einem leichten Gegenstand hin und her schwingen | eine Luftströmung verursachen |
Where the eye mixes wedeln and wehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wedeln runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against wehen's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wedeln and wehen
A purely visual mix-up. wedeln ([ˈveːdl̩n]) and wehen ([ˈveːən]) 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 58104, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wedeln is recorded at frequency rank #45,037, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈveːdl̩n]. wehen is at rank #13,067, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈveːən].
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 58104, this pair ranks #875,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wedeln vs wehen
Shared letters: enw. Private to "wedeln": dl. Private to "wehen": h.
"wedeln" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "wehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wedeln" for "wehen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wedeln" or "wehen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wedeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #875,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wedeln" and "wehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Waden vs wedeln". 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 #875,654 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.