Which to use
“weis” is a verb and “wet” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,848
- “weis” frequency rank
- #32,867
- “wet” frequency rank
- 40715
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weis | wet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs weisen | nass |
Where the eye mixes weis and wet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between weis and wet
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weis is [vaɪ̯s] while wet is [wɛt]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40715, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weis is recorded at frequency rank #7,848, classified as averb, pronounced [vaɪ̯s]. wet is at rank #32,867, tagged as anadj, pronounced [wɛt].
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 40715, this pair ranks #1,500,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weis vs wet
Shared letters: ew. Private to "weis": is. Private to "wet": t.
"weis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "wet" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- weis ← ewis · weiss · wesi · wies · wweis
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "weis" for "wet" ever safe?
Which is more common, "weis" or "wet"?
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 "weis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,500,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weis" and "wet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "went vs wet". 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 #1,500,508 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.