Which to use
“wider” is a preposition and “wife” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,132
- “wider” frequency rank
- #32,871
- “wife” frequency rank
- 38003
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wider | wife |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | drückt einen Gegensatz aus | verheiratete Frau, Ehefrau |
Where the eye mixes wider and wife
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wider and wife
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wider is [ˈviːdɐ] while wife is [waɪf]. 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 (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wider is recorded at frequency rank #5,132, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈviːdɐ]. wife is at rank #32,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced [waɪf].
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 38003, this pair ranks #1,575,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wider vs wife
Shared letters: eiw. Private to "wider": dr. Private to "wife": f.
"wider" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "wife" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wider" for "wife" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wider" vs "wife" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wider" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wife" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,575,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wider" and "wife" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wife vs wig". 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 #1,575,422 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.