Which to use
“weil” is a conjunction and “weilen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #112
- “weil” frequency rank
- #47,125
- “weilen” frequency rank
- 47237
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weil | weilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Subjunktion, die einen kausalen Nebensatz einleitet, auf dem besonderer Nachdruck liegt; im Hauptsatz stehen oft Wörter wie darum, deshalb oder deswegen, die auf den Nebensatz hinweisen sollen, weil kann dann nicht durch da ersetzt werden | sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben |
Where the eye mixes weil and weilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weil is [vaɪ̯l] while weilen is [ˈvaɪ̯lən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “weil” sits inside “weilen”, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47237, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weil is recorded at frequency rank #112, classified as aconj, pronounced [vaɪ̯l]. 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 47237, this pair ranks #1,291,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weil vs weilen
Shared letters: eilw. Private to "weil": -. Private to "weilen": n.
"weil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "weil" and "weilen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "weil" or "weilen"?
What to do next
You've compared "weil" and "weilen". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "weil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,291,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weil" and "weilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs Weines". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.