Which to use
“Wehr” is a noun and “wehte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,974
- “Wehr” frequency rank
- #45,686
- “wehte” frequency rank
- 56660
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wehr | wehte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Anlage zur Stauung von Wasser, die quer durch ein fließendes Gewässer verläuft | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wehen |
Where the eye mixes Wehr and wehte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Wehr runs 4 letters (CVCC) against wehte's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Wehr with wehte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Wehr is [veːɐ̯] while wehte is [ˈveːtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wehr is recorded at frequency rank #10,974, classified as anoun, pronounced [veːɐ̯]. 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 56660, this pair ranks #931,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Wehr vs wehte
Shared letters: ehw. Private to "Wehr": r. Private to "wehte": t.
"Wehr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wehte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Wehr" and "wehte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Wehr" vs "wehte" - which ranks higher?
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 "Wehr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wehte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #931,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wehr" and "wehte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "waste vs wehte". 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 #931,662 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.