Which to use
“wehen” is a verb and “woher” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,067
- “wehen” frequency rank
- #1,951
- “woher” frequency rank
- 15018
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wehen | woher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Luftströmung verursachen | leitet eine Frage nach der Herkunft ein |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wehen and woher apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wehen is [ˈveːən] while woher is [voˈheːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15018, 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]. woher is at rank #1,951, tagged as anadv, pronounced [voˈheːɐ̯].
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 15018, this pair ranks #1,947,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wehen vs woher
Shared letters: ehw. Private to "wehen": n. Private to "woher": or.
"wehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "woher" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wehen" and "woher" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wehen" or "woher"?
Remembering wehen vs woher
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “wehen”; for an adverb, it's “woher”.
- 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