welkevsWelpenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: welke is a adjective, Welpen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#47,128
“welke” frequency rank
#14,996
“Welpen” frequency rank
62124
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature welke Welpen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs welk Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Welpe

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set welke and Welpen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
welke
6 ch
Welpen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: welke is [ˈvɛlkə] while Welpen is [ˈvɛlpn̩]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

welke is recorded at frequency rank #47,128, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɛlkə]. Welpen is at rank #14,996, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛlpn̩].

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 62124, this pair ranks #724,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of welke vs Welpen

Shared letters: elw. Private to "welke": k. Private to "Welpen": np.

"welke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Welpen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • welkeewlke · wekle · welek · welkke · wellke · wleke · wwelke
  • Welpenewlpen · welepn · wellpen · welpenn · welpne · welppen · weplen · wlepen

Frequency comparison

welke#47,128
Welpen#14,996

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "welke" and "Welpen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "welke" is an adjective and "Welpen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "welke" or "Welpen"?
"Welpen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,996 in our German list, against #47,128 for "welke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering welke vs Welpen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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