Which to use
“wichsen” and “wischen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,997
- “wichsen” frequency rank
- #18,766
- “wischen” frequency rank
- 33763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wichsen | wischen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Leder mit Schuhcreme oder einem Lederfett einreiben (Schuhe oder Lederwaren) | etwas, zum Beispiel Schmutz von einer Oberfläche, entfernen, eventuell mit einem Lappen |
Where the eye mixes wichsen and wischen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. wichsen and wischen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses wichsen with wischen
A purely visual mix-up. wichsen ([ˈvɪksn̩]) and wischen ([ˈvɪʃn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wichsen is recorded at frequency rank #14,997, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪksn̩]. wischen is at rank #18,766, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪʃn̩].
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 33763, this pair ranks #1,678,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wichsen vs wischen
Shared letters: cehinsw. Private to "wichsen": -. Private to "wischen": -.
"wichsen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "wischen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wichsen" for "wischen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wichsen" vs "wischen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "wichsen" and "wischen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wichsen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wischen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,678,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wichsen" and "wischen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wichsen vs wichst". 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 #1,678,632 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.