Which to use
“weichen” and “weisen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,396
- “weichen” frequency rank
- #2,935
- “weisen” frequency rank
- 7331
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weichen | weisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich entfernen, weggehen/Platz machen | auf etwas zeigen |
Where the eye mixes weichen and weisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses weichen with weisen
A purely visual mix-up. weichen ([ˈvaɪ̯çn̩]) and weisen ([ˈvaɪ̯zn̩]) 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 7331, 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]. weisen is at rank #2,935, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯zn̩].
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 7331, this pair ranks #1,988,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of weichen vs weisen
Shared letters: einw. Private to "weichen": ch. Private to "weisen": s.
"weichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "weisen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "weichen" and "weisen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "weichen" or "weisen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "weichen" and "weisen" 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 "weisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,988,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weichen" and "weisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weichen 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 #1,988,554 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.