Which to use
“weichen” and “weilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,396
- “weichen” frequency rank
- #47,125
- “weilen” frequency rank
- 51521
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weichen | weilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich entfernen, weggehen/Platz machen | sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben |
Where the eye mixes weichen and weilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between weichen and weilen
A purely visual mix-up. weichen ([ˈvaɪ̯çn̩]) and weilen ([ˈvaɪ̯lən]) 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 51521, 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]. weilen is at rank #47,125, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯lən].
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 51521, this pair ranks #1,132,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weichen vs weilen
Shared letters: einw. Private to "weichen": ch. Private to "weilen": l.
"weichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weichen" and "weilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "weichen" vs "weilen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "weichen" and "weilen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "weichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,132,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weichen" and "weilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs Weines". 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 #1,132,302 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.