weichvsweichesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,487
“weich” frequency rank
#28,477
“weiches” frequency rank
34964
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weich weiches
Definition ohne großen Kraftaufwand plastisch verformbar Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs weich

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
weich
7 ch
weiches

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. weich ([vaɪ̯ç]) and weiches ([ˈvaɪ̯çəs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “weich” sits inside “weiches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weich is recorded at frequency rank #6,487, classified as anadj, pronounced [vaɪ̯ç]. weiches is at rank #28,477, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯çəs].

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 34964, this pair ranks #1,651,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of weich vs weiches

Shared letters: cehiw. Private to "weich": -. Private to "weiches": s.

"weich" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "weiches" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weichewich · wecih · weicch · weichh · weihc · wiech · wweich
  • weichesewiches · wecihes · weicches · weicehs · weichess · weichhes · weichse · weihces

Frequency comparison

weich#6,487
weiches#28,477

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weich" and "weiches" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([vaɪ̯ç] versus [ˈvaɪ̯çəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "weich" or "weiches"?
"weich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,487 in our German list, against #28,477 for "weiches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weich vs weiches

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 “weich” 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