Which to use
“wehen” and “wühlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,067
- “wehen” frequency rank
- #30,397
- “wühlen” frequency rank
- 43464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wehen | wühlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Luftströmung verursachen | meist mit technischen Hilfsmitteln im Erdboden graben |
Where the eye mixes wehen and wühlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wehen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against wühlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses wehen with wühlen
A purely visual mix-up. wehen ([ˈveːən]) and wühlen ([ˈvyːlən]) 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 43464, 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]. wühlen is at rank #30,397, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvyːlən].
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 43464, this pair ranks #1,417,268 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wehen vs wühlen
Shared letters: ehnw. Private to "wehen": -. Private to "wühlen": lü.
"wehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "wühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wehen ← ewhen · weehn · wehenn · wehhen · wehne · wheen · wwehen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wehen" for "wühlen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wehen" vs "wühlen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wühlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,417,268 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wehen" and "wühlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs wühlen". 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 #1,417,268 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.