WeitenvsweiterenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Weiten is a noun, weiteren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Weiten” is a noun and “weiteren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,577
“Weiten” frequency rank
#575
“weiteren” frequency rank
5152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Weiten weiteren
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Weite Verschiedene Flexionsformen des Adjektivs weiter, das selbst wiederum den Komparativ des Adjektivs weit darstellt:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Weiten and weiteren apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Weiten
8 ch
weiteren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Weiten is [ˈvaɪ̯tn̩] while weiteren is [ˈvaɪ̯təʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Weiten is recorded at frequency rank #4,577, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tn̩]. weiteren is at rank #575, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯təʁən].

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 5152, this pair ranks #1,995,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Weiten vs weiteren

Shared letters: eintw. Private to "Weiten": -. Private to "weiteren": r.

"Weiten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "weiteren" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Weitenewiten · weietn · weitenn · weitne · weitten · wetien · wieten · wweiten
  • weiterenewiteren · weietren · weiteern · weiterenn · weiterne · weiterren · weitreen · weitteren

Frequency comparison

Weiten#4,577
weiteren#575

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Weiten" and "weiteren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Weiten" is a noun and "weiteren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Weiten" or "weiteren"?
"weiteren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #575 in our German list, against #4,577 for "Weiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Weiten vs weiteren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Weiten”; for an adjective, it's “weiteren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Weiten” 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