Which to use
“weinen” and “werfen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,862
- “weinen” frequency rank
- #2,095
- “werfen” frequency rank
- 5957
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weinen | werfen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tränen vergießen | etwas in eine bestimmte Richtung schleudern |
Where the eye mixes weinen and werfen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses weinen with werfen
A purely visual mix-up. weinen ([ˈvaɪ̯nən]) and werfen ([ˈvɛʁfn̩]) 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 5957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weinen is recorded at frequency rank #3,862, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯nən]. werfen is at rank #2,095, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛʁfn̩].
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 5957, this pair ranks #1,993,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of weinen vs werfen
Shared letters: enw. Private to "weinen": i. Private to "werfen": fr.
"weinen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "werfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "weinen" for "werfen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "weinen" or "werfen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "weinen" and "werfen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "weinen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "werfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,993,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weinen" and "werfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weinen vs Weins". 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 #1,993,167 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.