Which to use
“weigern” and “weigerte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,760
- “weigern” frequency rank
- #16,325
- “weigerte” frequency rank
- 35085
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weigern | weigerte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ablehnen, etwas zu tun | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs weigern |
Where the eye mixes weigern and weigerte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: weigern vs weigerte
A purely visual mix-up. weigern ([ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐn]) and weigerte ([ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐtə]) 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 35085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weigern is recorded at frequency rank #18,760, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐn]. weigerte is at rank #16,325, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐtə].
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 35085, this pair ranks #1,648,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of weigern vs weigerte
Shared letters: egirw. Private to "weigern": n. Private to "weigerte": t.
"weigern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "weigerte" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weigern" and "weigerte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "weigern" or "weigerte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "weigern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weigerte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,648,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weigern" and "weigerte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weigern 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 #1,648,464 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.