Which to use
“wer” is a pronoun and “wog” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #133
- “wer” frequency rank
- #23,378
- “wog” frequency rank
- 23511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wer | wog |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fragt nach einer Person oder mehreren Personen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wiegen |
Where the eye mixes wer and wog
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses wer with wog
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wer is [veːɐ̯] while wog is [voːk]. 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 (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wer is recorded at frequency rank #133, classified as apron, pronounced [veːɐ̯]. wog is at rank #23,378, tagged as averb, pronounced [voːk].
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 23511, this pair ranks #1,860,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wer vs wog
Shared letters: w. Private to "wer": er. Private to "wog": go.
"wer" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "wog" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wer" and "wog" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "wer" or "wog" show up more?
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 "wer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wog" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,860,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wer" and "wog" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wig vs wog". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,860,354 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.