wehenvswehtunWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,067
“wehen” frequency rank
#28,018
“wehtun” frequency rank
41085
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wehen wehtun
Definition eine Luftströmung verursachen Schmerzen zufügen

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
wehen
6 ch
wehtun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wehen ([ˈveːən]) and wehtun ([ˈveːˌtuːn]) 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 41085, 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]. wehtun is at rank #28,018, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈveːˌtuːn].

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 41085, this pair ranks #1,489,838 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wehen vs wehtun

Shared letters: ehnw. Private to "wehen": -. Private to "wehtun": tu.

"wehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "wehtun" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wehenewhen · weehn · wehenn · wehhen · wehne · wheen · wwehen
  • wehtunewhtun · wehhtun · wehtnu · wehttun · wehtunn · wehutn · wethun · whetun

Frequency comparison

wehen#13,067
wehtun#28,018

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wehen" and "wehtun" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈveːən] versus [ˈveːˌtuːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wehen" or "wehtun"?
"wehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,067 in our German list, against #28,018 for "wehtun". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wehen vs wehtun

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