wehrenvswehteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,444
“wehren” frequency rank
#45,686
“wehte” frequency rank
51130
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wehren wehte
Definition sich etwas/jemandem entgegensetzen; gegen etwas Widerstand leisten 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wehren and wehte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
wehren
5 ch
wehte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wehren ([ˈveːʁən]) and wehte ([ˈveːtə]) 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 51130, 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]. 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 51130, this pair ranks #1,147,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wehren vs wehte

Shared letters: ehw. Private to "wehren": nr. Private to "wehte": t.

"wehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "wehte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wehrenewhren · wehern · wehhren · wehrenn · wehrne · wehrren · werhen · wheren
  • wehteewhte · wehet · wehhte · wehtte · wethe · whete · wwehte

Frequency comparison

wehren#5,444
wehte#45,686

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wehren" and "wehte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈveːʁən] versus [ˈveːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wehren" or "wehte"?
"wehren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,444 in our German list, against #45,686 for "wehte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wehren vs wehte

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 “wehren” 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