Which to use
“Wehe” and “Welle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,122
- “Wehe” frequency rank
- #4,315
- “Welle” frequency rank
- 13437
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wehe | Welle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | seelischer Schmerz | Erhebung von Wasser |
Where the eye mixes Wehe and Welle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Wehe runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Welle's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Wehe vs Welle
A purely visual mix-up. Wehe ([ˈveːə]) and Welle ([ˈvɛlə]) 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 13437, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wehe is recorded at frequency rank #9,122, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈveːə]. Welle is at rank #4,315, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛlə].
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 13437, this pair ranks #1,958,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Wehe vs Welle
Shared letters: ew. Private to "Wehe": h. Private to "Welle": l.
"Wehe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Welle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Wehe" and "Welle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Wehe" or "Welle"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Wehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Welle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wehe" and "Welle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wehe vs went". 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 #1,958,012 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.