Which to use
“weiterfahrt” and “widerfährt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,389
- “weiterfahrt” frequency rank
- #47,857
- “widerfährt” frequency rank
- 78246
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weiterfahrt | widerfährt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs weiterfahren | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs widerfahren |
Where the eye mixes weiterfahrt and widerfährt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. weiterfahrt runs 11 letters (CVVCVCCVCCC) against widerfährt's 10 (CVCVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses weiterfahrt with widerfährt
A purely visual mix-up. weiterfahrt ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐˌfaːɐ̯t]) and widerfährt ([ˌvidɐˈfɛːɐ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weiterfahrt is recorded at frequency rank #30,389, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tɐˌfaːɐ̯t]. widerfährt is at rank #47,857, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌvidɐˈfɛːɐ̯t].
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 78246, this pair ranks #242,581 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of weiterfahrt vs widerfährt
Shared letters: efhirtw. Private to "weiterfahrt": a. Private to "widerfährt": dä.
"weiterfahrt" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVCCVCCC · "widerfährt" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- weiterfahrt ← ewiterfahrt · weietrfahrt · weitefrahrt · weiterafhrt · weiterfahhrt · weiterfahrrt · weiterfahrtt · weiterfahtr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "weiterfahrt" for "widerfährt" ever safe?
Frequency check: "weiterfahrt" vs "widerfährt" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "weiterfahrt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "widerfährt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #242,581 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weiterfahrt" and "widerfährt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "widerfahren vs widerfährt". 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 #242,581 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.