Which to use
“welche” is a pronoun and “welke” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #262
- “welche” frequency rank
- #47,128
- “welke” frequency rank
- 47390
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | welche | welke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Interrogativpronomen (Fragepronomen) | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs welk |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set welche and welke apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: welche is [ˈvɛlçə] while welke is [ˈvɛlkə]. 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 (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
welche is recorded at frequency rank #262, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈvɛlçə]. welke is at rank #47,128, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɛlkə].
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 47390, this pair ranks #1,285,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of welche vs welke
Shared letters: elw. Private to "welche": ch. Private to "welke": k.
"welche" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "welke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "welche" and "welke" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "welche" or "welke"?
Remembering welche vs welke
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “welche”; for an adjective, it's “welke”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “welche” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable