Which to use
“weigern” is a verb and “weniger” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,760
- “weigern” frequency rank
- #342
- “weniger” frequency rank
- 19102
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weigern | weniger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ablehnen, etwas zu tun | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs wenig |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weigern and weniger apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
weigern and weniger form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19102, 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]. weniger is at rank #342, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈveːnɪɡɐ].
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 19102, this pair ranks #1,911,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "weigern" and "weniger" be used interchangeably?
Remembering weigern vs weniger
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “weigern”; for an adjective, it's “weniger”.
- 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