weihenvsWeineWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: weihen is a verb, Weine is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“weihen” is a verb and “Weine” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,119
“weihen” frequency rank
#5,898
“Weine” frequency rank
42017
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weihen Weine
Definition eine Person durch besondere religiöse Handlungen in ein Amt einführen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Wein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weihen and Weine apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
weihen
5 ch
Weine

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weihen is [ˈvaɪ̯ən] while Weine is [ˈvaɪ̯nə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weihen is recorded at frequency rank #36,119, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯ən]. Weine is at rank #5,898, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯nə].

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 42017, this pair ranks #1,462,115 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weihen vs Weine

Shared letters: einw. Private to "weihen": h. Private to "Weine": -.

"weihen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Weine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weihenewihen · wehien · weiehn · weihenn · weihhen · weihne · wiehen · wweihen
  • Weineewine · weien · wenie · wiene · wweine

Frequency comparison

weihen#36,119
Weine#5,898

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weihen" and "Weine" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weihen" is a verb and "Weine" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weihen" or "Weine"?
"Weine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,898 in our German list, against #36,119 for "weihen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weihen vs Weine

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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