Which to use
“Weh” is a noun and “wehre” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,474
- “Weh” frequency rank
- #35,548
- “wehre” frequency rank
- 38022
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Weh | wehre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | seelischer Schmerz | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wehren |
Where the eye mixes Weh and wehre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Weh runs 3 letters (CVC) against wehre's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Weh and wehre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Weh is [veː] while wehre is [ˈveːʁə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Weh” sits inside “wehre”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Weh is recorded at frequency rank #2,474, classified as anoun, pronounced [veː]. wehre is at rank #35,548, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈveːʁə].
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 38022, this pair ranks #1,574,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Weh vs wehre
Shared letters: ehw. Private to "Weh": -. Private to "wehre": r.
"Weh" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "wehre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- wehre ← ewhre · weher · wehhre · wehrre · werhe · wwehre
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Weh" and "wehre" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Weh" vs "wehre" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Weh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wehre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,574,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Weh" and "wehre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wehre vs welke". 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 #1,574,908 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.