Which to use
“Weiden” is a name and “weilen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,836
- “Weiden” frequency rank
- #47,125
- “weilen” frequency rank
- 56961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Weiden | weilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Stadt in Bayern, Deutschland | sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben |
Where the eye mixes Weiden and weilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Weiden and weilen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Weiden with weilen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Weiden is [ˈvaɪ̯dn̩] while weilen is [ˈvaɪ̯lən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “Weiden” becomes l in “weilen”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Weiden is recorded at frequency rank #9,836, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯dn̩]. 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 56961, this pair ranks #919,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Weiden vs weilen
Shared letters: einw. Private to "Weiden": d. Private to "weilen": l.
"Weiden" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Weiden" and "weilen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Weiden" or "weilen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Weiden" 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 #919,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Weiden" 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 #919,990 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.