WeisungvsWerbungWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Weisung” and “Werbung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#23,371
“Weisung” frequency rank
#1,278
“Werbung” frequency rank
24649
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Weisung Werbung
Definition verbindliche Aufforderung in verschiedener Weise verbreitete Informationen zu dem Zweck, Kunden, Käufer, Mitglieder oder Ähnliches zu bekommen

Where the eye mixes Weisung and Werbung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Weisung (CVVCVCC) and Werbung (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Weisung
7 ch
Werbung

Why the eye confuses Weisung with Werbung

A purely visual mix-up. Weisung ([ˈvaɪ̯zʊŋ]) and Werbung ([ˈvɛʁbʊŋ]) 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 24649, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Weisung is recorded at frequency rank #23,371, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯zʊŋ]. Werbung is at rank #1,278, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛʁbʊŋ].

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 24649, this pair ranks #1,844,653 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Weisung vs Werbung

Shared letters: egnuw. Private to "Weisung": is. Private to "Werbung": br.

"Weisung" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "Werbung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Weisung ← ewisung · weisnug · weissung · weisugn · weisungg · weisunng · weiusng · wesiung
  • Werbung ← ewrbung · webrung · werbbung · werbnug · werbugn · werbungg · werbunng · werrbung

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Weisung" and "Werbung" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaɪ̯zʊŋ] versus [ˈvɛʁbʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Weisung" vs "Werbung" - which ranks higher?
"Werbung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,278 in our German list, against #23,371 for "Weisung". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Weisung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Werbung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,844,653 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Weisung" and "Werbung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Weisung vs Weisungen". 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 #1,844,653 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