WiegevsWiensWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Wiege” and “Wiens” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,209
“Wiege” frequency rank
#16,880
“Wiens” frequency rank
31089
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Wiege Wiens
Definition entweder mit zwei abgerundeten Kufen beziehungsweise Schaukelbrettern versehenes beziehungsweise in ein spezielles Gestell eingehängtes oder frei von der Decke hängendes kastenförmiges Bettchen für Säuglinge, mithilfe dessen der Säugling (in Längs- oder Querrichtung) gewiegt beziehungsweise geschaukelt werden kann Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Wien

Where the eye mixes Wiege and Wiens

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Wiege
5 ch
Wiens

Visual trap between Wiege and Wiens

A purely visual mix-up. Wiege ([ˈviːɡə]) and Wiens ([viːns]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Wiege is recorded at frequency rank #14,209, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːɡə]. Wiens is at rank #16,880, tagged as anoun, pronounced [viːns].

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 31089, this pair ranks #1,735,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Wiege vs Wiens

Shared letters: eiw. Private to "Wiege": g. Private to "Wiens": ns.

"Wiege" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Wiens" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wiegeiwege · wieeg · wiegge · wigee · wwiege
  • Wiensiwens · wienns · wienss · wines · wwiens

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Wiege" and "Wiens" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈviːɡə] versus [viːns]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Wiege" or "Wiens" show up more?
"Wiege" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,209 in our German list, against #16,880 for "Wiens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Wiege" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Wiens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,735,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Wiege" and "Wiens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "went vs Wiens". 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 #1,735,019 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