Which to use
“weichen” is a verb and “welchem” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,396
- “weichen” frequency rank
- #1,795
- “welchem” frequency rank
- 6191
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weichen | welchem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich entfernen, weggehen/Platz machen | Dativ Singular des Pronomens welcher |
Where the eye mixes weichen and welchem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses weichen with welchem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weichen is [ˈvaɪ̯çn̩] while welchem is [ˈvɛlçəm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6191, 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]. welchem is at rank #1,795, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈvɛlçəm].
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 6191, this pair ranks #1,992,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of weichen vs welchem
Shared letters: cehw. Private to "weichen": in. Private to "welchem": lm.
"weichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "welchem" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "weichen" for "welchem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "weichen" or "welchem"?
What to do next
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 "welchem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,992,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weichen" and "welchem" 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 #1,992,423 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.