Which to use
“wehren” and “weihen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,444
- “wehren” frequency rank
- #36,119
- “weihen” frequency rank
- 41563
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wehren | weihen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich etwas/jemandem entgegensetzen; gegen etwas Widerstand leisten | eine Person durch besondere religiöse Handlungen in ein Amt einführen |
Where the eye mixes wehren and weihen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. wehren (CVCCVC) and weihen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: wehren vs weihen
A purely visual mix-up. wehren ([ˈveːʁən]) and weihen ([ˈvaɪ̯ən]) 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 41563, 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]. weihen is at rank #36,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯ən].
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 41563, this pair ranks #1,475,718 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wehren vs weihen
Shared letters: ehnw. Private to "wehren": r. Private to "weihen": i.
"wehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "weihen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wehren" for "weihen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wehren" or "weihen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weihen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,475,718 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wehren" and "weihen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weihen vs weilen". 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 #1,475,718 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.