Which to use
“wie” is an adverb and “wig” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30
- “wie” frequency rank
- #46,402
- “wig” frequency rank
- 46432
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wie | wig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Als modales Interrogativadverb erfragt „wie“ ein Adverb beziehungsweise ein Adverbiale und damit die Art und Weise. Es steht stets an der Spitze eines Hauptsatzes oder eines Interrogativnebensatzes. | die Perücke |
Where the eye mixes wie and wig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses wie with wig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wie is [viː] while wig is [wɪɡ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “wie” becomes g in “wig”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46432, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wie is recorded at frequency rank #30, classified as anadv, pronounced [viː]. wig is at rank #46,402, tagged as anoun, pronounced [wɪɡ].
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 46432, this pair ranks #1,319,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wie vs wig
Shared letters: iw. Private to "wie": e. Private to "wig": g.
"wie" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "wig" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wie" for "wig" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wie" or "wig"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,319,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wie" and "wig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wig vs wit". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,319,301 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.