weilenvsWelpenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#47,125
“weilen” frequency rank
#14,996
“Welpen” frequency rank
62121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weilen Welpen
Definition sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Welpe

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
weilen
6 ch
Welpen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weilen is [ˈvaɪ̯lən] while Welpen is [ˈvɛlpn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62121, 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]. Welpen is at rank #14,996, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛlpn̩].

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 62121, this pair ranks #724,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weilen vs Welpen

Shared letters: elnw. Private to "weilen": i. Private to "Welpen": p.

"weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Welpen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weilenewilen · weieln · weilenn · weillen · weilne · welien · wielen · wweilen
  • Welpenewlpen · welepn · wellpen · welpenn · welpne · welppen · weplen · wlepen

Frequency comparison

weilen#47,125
Welpen#14,996

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weilen" and "Welpen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weilen" is a verb and "Welpen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weilen" or "Welpen"?
"Welpen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,996 in our German list, against #47,125 for "weilen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weilen vs Welpen

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 “Welpen”.
  • 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