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 eye mixes weilen and Welpen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. weilen (CVVCVC) and Welpen (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses weilen with Welpen
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weilen" and "Welpen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "weilen" vs "Welpen" - 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 "weilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Welpen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #724,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weilen" and "Welpen" 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
Confusion rank #724,422 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.