widervsWitwerTell them apart

Quick tell: wider is a preposition, Witwer is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wider” is a preposition and “Witwer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,132
“wider” frequency rank
#38,530
“Witwer” frequency rank
43662
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wider Witwer
Definition drückt einen Gegensatz aus Mann, dessen Ehepartnerin beziehungsweise Ehepartner verstorben ist (und der [noch] nicht wieder geheiratet hat)

Where the eye mixes wider and Witwer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
wider
6 ch
Witwer

Why the eye confuses wider with Witwer

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wider is [ˈviːdɐ] while Witwer is [ˈvɪtvɐ]. 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 43662, 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]. Witwer is at rank #38,530, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɪtvɐ].

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 43662, this pair ranks #1,410,917 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wider vs Witwer

Shared letters: eirw. Private to "wider": d. Private to "Witwer": t.

"wider" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Witwer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wideriwder · wdier · widerr · widre · wiedr · wwider
  • Witweriwtwer · witewr · wittwer · witwerr · witwre · witwwer · wiwter · wtiwer

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "wider" and "Witwer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wider" is a preposition and "Witwer" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "wider" vs "Witwer" - which ranks higher?
"wider" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,132 in our German list, against #38,530 for "Witwer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Witwer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,410,917 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wider" and "Witwer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Witwer vs writer". 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 #1,410,917 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list