weisenvsWinsenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: weisen is a verb, Winsen is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“weisen” is a verb and “Winsen” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,935
“weisen” frequency rank
#42,955
“Winsen” frequency rank
45890
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weisen Winsen
Definition auf etwas zeigen eine Stadt in Niedersachsen, Deutschland

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weisen and Winsen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
weisen
6 ch
Winsen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weisen is [ˈvaɪ̯zn̩] while Winsen is [ˈvɪnzn̩]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weisen is recorded at frequency rank #2,935, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯zn̩]. Winsen is at rank #42,955, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈvɪnzn̩].

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 45890, this pair ranks #1,337,670 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weisen vs Winsen

Shared letters: einsw. Private to "weisen": -. Private to "Winsen": -.

"weisen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Winsen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weisenewisen · weiesn · weisenn · weisne · weissen · wesien · wweisen
  • Winseniwnsen · winesn · winnsen · winsenn · winsne · winssen · wisnen · wnisen

Frequency comparison

weisen#2,935
Winsen#42,955

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weisen" and "Winsen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weisen" is a verb and "Winsen" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weisen" or "Winsen"?
"weisen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,935 in our German list, against #42,955 for "Winsen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering weisen vs Winsen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “weisen”; for a name, it's “Winsen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “weisen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list