WeichevsweichesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Weiche is a noun, weiches is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Weiche” is a noun and “weiches” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,485
“Weiche” frequency rank
#28,477
“weiches” frequency rank
37962
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Weiche weiches
Definition weiche Beschaffenheit Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs weich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Weiche and weiches apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Weiche
7 ch
weiches

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Weiche is [ˈvaɪ̯çə] while weiches is [ˈvaɪ̯çəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Weiche” sits inside “weiches”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Weiche is recorded at frequency rank #9,485, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯çə]. 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 37962, this pair ranks #1,576,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Weiche vs weiches

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

"Weiche" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "weiches" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Weicheewiche · wecihe · weicche · weiceh · weichhe · weihce · wieche · wweiche
  • weichesewiches · wecihes · weicches · weicehs · weichess · weichhes · weichse · weihces

Frequency comparison

Weiche#9,485
weiches#28,477

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Weiche" and "weiches" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Weiche" is a noun and "weiches" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Weiche" or "weiches"?
"Weiche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,485 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 Weiche vs weiches

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Weiche”; for an adjective, it's “weiches”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Weiche” 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