weggehenvswegnehmenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,764
“weggehen” frequency rank
#11,360
“wegnehmen” frequency rank
31124
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weggehen wegnehmen
Definition sich entfernen; einen Ort verlassen unerlaubterweise in seinen Besitz bringen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weggehen and wegnehmen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
weggehen
9 ch
wegnehmen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. weggehen ([ˈvɛkˌɡeːən]) and wegnehmen ([ˈvɛkˌneːmən]) 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 31124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weggehen is recorded at frequency rank #19,764, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛkˌɡeːən]. wegnehmen is at rank #11,360, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛkˌneːmən].

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 31124, this pair ranks #1,734,330 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of weggehen vs wegnehmen

Shared letters: eghnw. Private to "weggehen": -. Private to "wegnehmen": m.

"weggehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "wegnehmen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weggehenewggehen · wegeghen · wegehen · weggeehn · weggehenn · weggehhen · weggehne · weggheen
  • wegnehmenewgnehmen · wegenhmen · weggnehmen · wegnehemn · wegnehhmen · wegnehmenn · wegnehmmen · wegnehmne

Frequency comparison

weggehen#19,764
wegnehmen#11,360

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weggehen" and "wegnehmen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛkˌɡeːən] versus [ˈvɛkˌneːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "weggehen" or "wegnehmen"?
"wegnehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,360 in our German list, against #19,764 for "weggehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weggehen vs wegnehmen

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 “weggehen” 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