Which to use
“wehren” and “wehrte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,444
- “wehren” frequency rank
- #22,211
- “wehrte” frequency rank
- 27655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wehren | wehrte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich etwas/jemandem entgegensetzen; gegen etwas Widerstand leisten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wehren |
Where the eye mixes wehren and wehrte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. wehren (CVCCVC) and wehrte (CVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses wehren with wehrte
A purely visual mix-up. wehren ([ˈveːʁən]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wehren is recorded at frequency rank #5,444, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈveːʁən]. 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 27655, this pair ranks #1,798,192 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wehren vs wehrte
Shared letters: ehrw. Private to "wehren": n. Private to "wehrte": t.
"wehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "wehrte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wehren" and "wehrte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "wehren" or "wehrte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "wehren" and "wehrte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wehrte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,798,192 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wehren" and "wehrte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wehrte 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 #1,798,192 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.