weirdvsweisTell them apart

Quick tell: weird is a adjective, weis is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“weird” is an adjective and “weis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,863
“weird” frequency rank
#7,848
“weis” frequency rank
37711
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weird weis
Definition bizarr, drollig, eigenartig, grotesk, kurios, seltsam, sonderbar, verschroben 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs weisen

Where the eye mixes weird and weis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
weird
4 ch
weis

Visual trap between weird and weis

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weird is [wɪəd] while weis is [vaɪ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weird is recorded at frequency rank #29,863, classified as anadj, pronounced [wɪəd]. weis is at rank #7,848, tagged as averb, pronounced [vaɪ̯s].

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 37711, this pair ranks #1,583,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of weird vs weis

Shared letters: eiw. Private to "weird": dr. Private to "weis": s.

"weird" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "weis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weirdewird · weidr · weirdd · weirrd · werid · wierd · wweird
  • weisewis · weiss · wesi · wies · wweis

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "weird" and "weis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weird" is an adjective and "weis" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weird" or "weis"?
"weis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,848 in our German list, against #29,863 for "weird". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "weird" and "weis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "weird" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "weis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,583,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "weird" and "weis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Weins vs weird". 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 #1,583,042 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list