wehrevswehrteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,548
“wehre” frequency rank
#22,211
“wehrte” frequency rank
57759
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wehre wehrte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wehren 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wehren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wehre and wehrte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wehre
6 ch
wehrte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wehre ([ˈveːʁə]) and wehrte ([ˈveːɐ̯tə]) 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 57759, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wehre is recorded at frequency rank #35,548, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈveːʁə]. wehrte is at rank #22,211, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈveːɐ̯tə].

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 57759, this pair ranks #888,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wehre vs wehrte

Shared letters: ehrw. Private to "wehre": -. Private to "wehrte": t.

"wehre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "wehrte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wehreewhre · weher · wehhre · wehrre · werhe · wwehre
  • wehrteewhrte · wehhrte · wehret · wehrrte · wehrtte · wehtre · werhte · wherte

Frequency comparison

wehre#35,548
wehrte#22,211

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wehre" and "wehrte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈveːʁə] versus [ˈveːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wehre" or "wehrte"?
"wehrte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,211 in our German list, against #35,548 for "wehre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wehre vs wehrte

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 “wehre” 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