Which to use
“wich” is a verb and “wir” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,451
- “wich” frequency rank
- #37
- “wir” frequency rank
- 19488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wich | wir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs weichen | 1. Person Plural; mehrere Personen, die sprechende eingeschlossen |
Where the eye mixes wich and wir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wich and wir
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wich is [vɪç] while wir is [viːɐ̯]. 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 (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wich is recorded at frequency rank #19,451, classified as averb, pronounced [vɪç]. wir is at rank #37, tagged as apron, pronounced [viːɐ̯].
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 19488, this pair ranks #1,907,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wich vs wir
Shared letters: iw. Private to "wich": ch. Private to "wir": r.
"wich" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wir" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wich ← iwch · wcih · wicch · wichh · wihc · wwich
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wich" for "wir" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "wich" or "wir" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,907,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wich" and "wir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wich vs witch". 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 #1,907,819 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.