wehenvswehteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,067
“wehen” frequency rank
#45,686
“wehte” frequency rank
58753
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wehen wehte
Definition eine Luftströmung verursachen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wehen and wehte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wehen
5 ch
wehte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wehen ([ˈveːən]) and wehte ([ˈveːtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wehen is recorded at frequency rank #13,067, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈveːən]. wehte is at rank #45,686, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈveːtə].

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 58753, this pair ranks #850,631 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wehen vs wehte

Shared letters: ehw. Private to "wehen": n. Private to "wehte": t.

"wehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "wehte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wehenewhen · weehn · wehenn · wehhen · wehne · wheen · wwehen
  • wehteewhte · wehet · wehhte · wehtte · wethe · whete · wwehte

Frequency comparison

wehen#13,067
wehte#45,686

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wehen" and "wehte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈveːən] versus [ˈveːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wehen" or "wehte"?
"wehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,067 in our German list, against #45,686 for "wehte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wehen vs wehte

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 “wehen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list