Which to use
“weichen” and “weihen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,396
- “weichen” frequency rank
- #36,119
- “weihen” frequency rank
- 40515
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weichen | weihen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich entfernen, weggehen/Platz machen | eine Person durch besondere religiöse Handlungen in ein Amt einführen |
Where the eye mixes weichen and weihen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: weichen vs weihen
A purely visual mix-up. weichen ([ˈvaɪ̯çn̩]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40515, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weichen is recorded at frequency rank #4,396, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯çn̩]. 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 40515, this pair ranks #1,506,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weichen vs weihen
Shared letters: ehinw. Private to "weichen": c. Private to "weihen": -.
"weichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "weihen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weichen" and "weihen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "weichen" vs "weihen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "weichen" 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 #1,506,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weichen" 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 #1,506,207 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.