WeidenvsweilenWhat's the difference?

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

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Weiden and weilen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Weiden
6 ch
weilen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • Weidenewiden · wedien · weidden · weidenn · weidne · weiedn · wieden · wweiden
  • weilenewilen · weieln · weilenn · weillen · weilne · welien · wielen · wweilen

Frequency comparison

Weiden#9,836
weilen#47,125

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Weiden" and "weilen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Weiden" is a name and "weilen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Weiden" or "weilen"?
"Weiden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,836 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 Weiden vs weilen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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