weigernvsweitersWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: weigern is a verb, weiters is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“weigern” is a verb and “weiters” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,760
“weigern” frequency rank
#11,784
“weiters” frequency rank
30544
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weigern weiters
Definition ablehnen, etwas zu tun außerdem

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
weigern
7 ch
weiters

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weigern is [ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐn] while weiters is [ˈvaɪ̯tɐs]. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30544, 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]. weiters is at rank #11,784, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tɐs].

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 30544, this pair ranks #1,745,745 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of weigern vs weiters

Shared letters: eirw. Private to "weigern": gn. Private to "weiters": st.

"weigern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "weiters" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weigernewigern · wegiern · weiegrn · weigenr · weigernn · weigerrn · weiggern · weigren
  • weitersewiters · weietrs · weiterrs · weiterss · weitesr · weitres · weitters · wetiers

Frequency comparison

weigern#18,760
weiters#11,784

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weigern" and "weiters" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weigern" is a verb and "weiters" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weigern" or "weiters"?
"weiters" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,784 in our German list, against #18,760 for "weigern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weigern vs weiters

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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