WeidevsweilenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Weide is a noun, weilen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Weide” is a noun and “weilen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,460
“Weide” frequency rank
#47,125
“weilen” frequency rank
61585
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Weide weilen
Definition Laubgehölz aus der Gattung Salix sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Weide and weilen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Weide
6 ch
weilen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Weide is [ˈvaɪ̯də] while weilen is [ˈvaɪ̯lən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Weide is recorded at frequency rank #14,460, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯də]. 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 61585, this pair ranks #744,259 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Weide vs weilen

Shared letters: eiw. Private to "Weide": d. Private to "weilen": ln.

"Weide" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Weideewide · wedie · weidde · weied · wiede · wweide
  • weilenewilen · weieln · weilenn · weillen · weilne · welien · wielen · wweilen

Frequency comparison

Weide#14,460
weilen#47,125

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Weide" and "weilen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Weide" is a noun and "weilen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Weide" or "weilen"?
"Weide" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,460 in our German list, against #47,125 for "weilen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Weide vs weilen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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