Which to use
“Weile” is a noun and “weis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,093
- “Weile” frequency rank
- #7,848
- “weis” frequency rank
- 10941
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Weile | weis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unbestimmte, kürzere Zeitdauer | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs weisen |
Where the eye mixes Weile and weis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Weile runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against weis's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Weile vs weis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Weile is [ˈvaɪ̯lə] while weis is [vaɪ̯s]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Weile is recorded at frequency rank #3,093, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯lə]. weis is at rank #7,848, tagged as averb, pronounced [vaɪ̯s].
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 10941, this pair ranks #1,972,533 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Weile vs weis
Shared letters: eiw. Private to "Weile": l. Private to "weis": s.
"Weile" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "weis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Weile" and "weis" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Weile" vs "weis" - which ranks higher?
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 "Weile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,533 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Weile" and "weis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weis vs went". 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 #1,972,533 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.