weiterfahrtvswiderfährtWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weiterfahrt and widerfährt apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
weiterfahrt
10 ch
widerfährt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": .

"weiterfahrt" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVCCVCCC  ·  "widerfährt" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weiterfahrtewiterfahrt · weietrfahrt · weitefrahrt · weiterafhrt · weiterfahhrt · weiterfahrrt · weiterfahrtt · weiterfahtr

Frequency comparison

weiterfahrt#30,389
widerfährt#47,857

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weiterfahrt" and "widerfährt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐˌfaːɐ̯t] versus [ˌvidɐˈfɛːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "weiterfahrt" or "widerfährt"?
"weiterfahrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,389 in our German list, against #47,857 for "widerfährt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weiterfahrt vs widerfährt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “weiterfahrt” 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