Which to use
“weit” is an adjective and “wie” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #355
- “weit” frequency rank
- #30
- “wie” frequency rank
- 385
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weit | wie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (flächenhaft) ausgedehnt | Als modales Interrogativadverb erfragt „wie“ ein Adverb beziehungsweise ein Adverbiale und damit die Art und Weise. Es steht stets an der Spitze eines Hauptsatzes oder eines Interrogativnebensatzes. |
Where the eye mixes weit and wie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between weit and wie
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weit is [vaɪ̯t] while wie is [viː]. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weit is recorded at frequency rank #355, classified as anadj, pronounced [vaɪ̯t]. wie is at rank #30, tagged as anadv, pronounced [viː].
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 385, this pair ranks #2,005,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of weit vs wie
Shared letters: eiw. Private to "weit": t. Private to "wie": -.
"weit" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "wie" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- weit ← ewit · weitt · weti · wiet · wweit
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "weit" and "wie" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "weit" or "wie" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "weit" and "wie" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "weit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,005,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weit" and "wie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weit vs went". 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 #2,005,923 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.