weilenvsWeitenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#47,125
“weilen” frequency rank
#4,577
“Weiten” frequency rank
51702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weilen Weiten
Definition sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Weite

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
weilen
6 ch
Weiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weilen is [ˈvaɪ̯lən] while Weiten is [ˈvaɪ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “weilen” becomes t in “Weiten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weilen is recorded at frequency rank #47,125, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯lən]. Weiten is at rank #4,577, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tn̩].

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 51702, this pair ranks #1,125,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weilen vs Weiten

Shared letters: einw. Private to "weilen": l. Private to "Weiten": t.

"weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Weiten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weilenewilen · weieln · weilenn · weillen · weilne · welien · wielen · wweilen
  • Weitenewiten · weietn · weitenn · weitne · weitten · wetien · wieten · wweiten

Frequency comparison

weilen#47,125
Weiten#4,577

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weilen" and "Weiten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weilen" is a verb and "Weiten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weilen" or "Weiten"?
"Weiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,577 in our German list, against #47,125 for "weilen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering weilen vs Weiten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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