Which to use
“when” is an adverb and “wüten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,658
- “when” frequency rank
- #42,274
- “wüten” frequency rank
- 50932
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | when | wüten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | wann | kraftvoll agierend und oft ungerichtet Zerstörungen anrichten |
Where the eye mixes when and wüten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses when with wüten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: when is [wɛn] while wüten is [ˈvyːtn̩]. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
when is recorded at frequency rank #8,658, classified as anadv, pronounced [wɛn]. wüten is at rank #42,274, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvyːtn̩].
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 50932, this pair ranks #1,154,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of when vs wüten
Shared letters: enw. Private to "when": h. Private to "wüten": tü.
"when" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "wüten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- when ← hwen · wehn · whenn · whhen · whne · wwhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "when" and "wüten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "when" or "wüten" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "when" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wüten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,154,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "when" and "wüten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wotan vs wüten". 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 #1,154,881 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.