Which to use
“wehrte” and “weilte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,211
- “wehrte” frequency rank
- #29,422
- “weilte” frequency rank
- 51633
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wehrte | weilte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wehren | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs weilen |
Where the eye mixes wehrte and weilte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wehrte (CVCCCV) and weilte (CVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between wehrte and weilte
A purely visual mix-up. wehrte ([ˈveːɐ̯tə]) and weilte ([ˈvaɪ̯ltə]) 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 51633, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wehrte is recorded at frequency rank #22,211, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈveːɐ̯tə]. weilte is at rank #29,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯ltə].
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 51633, this pair ranks #1,128,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wehrte vs weilte
Shared letters: etw. Private to "wehrte": hr. Private to "weilte": il.
"wehrte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "weilte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wehrte" for "weilte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wehrte" vs "weilte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wehrte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weilte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,128,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wehrte" and "weilte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilte vs welke". 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 #1,128,117 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.