Which to use
“Wende” is a noun and “wilde” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,397
- “Wende” frequency rank
- #4,668
- “wilde” frequency rank
- 9065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Wende | wilde |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einschneidende Veränderung, Umbruch | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs wild |
Where the eye mixes Wende and wilde
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Wende with wilde
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Wende is [ˈvɛndə] while wilde is [ˈvɪldə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Wende is recorded at frequency rank #4,397, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛndə]. wilde is at rank #4,668, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪldə].
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 9065, this pair ranks #1,981,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Wende vs wilde
Shared letters: dew. Private to "Wende": n. Private to "wilde": il.
"Wende" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "wilde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Wende" and "wilde" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Wende" vs "wilde" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Wende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wilde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,981,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Wende" and "wilde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wende vs went". 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 #1,981,614 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.