Which to use
“weilen” and “wollen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,125
- “weilen” frequency rank
- #182
- “wollen” frequency rank
- 47307
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weilen | wollen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben | entschieden haben und deswegen vorhaben beziehungsweise den Vorsatz haben, etwas zu tun, um etwas zu erlangen oder zu erreichen |
Where the eye mixes weilen and wollen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. weilen (CVVCVC) and wollen (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: weilen vs wollen
A purely visual mix-up. weilen ([ˈvaɪ̯lən]) and wollen ([ˈvɔlən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47307, 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]. wollen is at rank #182, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɔlən].
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 47307, this pair ranks #1,288,941 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weilen vs wollen
Shared letters: elnw. Private to "weilen": i. Private to "wollen": o.
"weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "wollen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weilen" and "wollen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "weilen" or "wollen"?
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 "wollen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,288,941 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weilen" and "wollen" 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 #1,288,941 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.