weitemvswriteWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#5,233
“weitem” frequency rank
#38,531
“write” frequency rank
43764
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weitem write
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs weit (Symbole, Buchstaben, Wörter) auf einer Fläche zeichnen, formen, zum Beispiel mit einem Bleistift

Where the eye mixes weitem and write

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
weitem
5 ch
write

Why the eye confuses weitem with write

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weitem is [ˈvaɪ̯təm] while write is [ɹaɪt]. 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 43764, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weitem is recorded at frequency rank #5,233, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯təm]. write is at rank #38,531, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɹaɪt].

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 43764, this pair ranks #1,407,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weitem vs write

Shared letters: eitw. Private to "weitem": m. Private to "write": r.

"weitem" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "write" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weitemewitem · weietm · weitemm · weitme · weittem · wetiem · wietem · wweitem
  • writerwite · wriet · writte · wrrite · wrtie · wwrite

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "weitem" and "write" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weitem" is an adjective and "write" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "weitem" or "write" show up more?
"weitem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,233 in our German list, against #38,531 for "write". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "weitem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "write" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,407,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "weitem" and "write" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "write vs writer". 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 #1,407,708 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