Which to use
“wiegen” and “winken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,205
- “wiegen” frequency rank
- #16,881
- “winken” frequency rank
- 29086
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wiegen | winken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Gewicht von jemandem oder etwas messen, schätzen | zur Begrüßung, zum Abschied oder, um Aufmerksamkeit zu erregen, mit der Hand in der Luft wedeln |
Where the eye mixes wiegen and winken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. wiegen (CVVCVC) and winken (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses wiegen with winken
A purely visual mix-up. wiegen ([ˈviːɡn̩]) and winken ([ˈvɪŋkn̩]) 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 29086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wiegen is recorded at frequency rank #12,205, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈviːɡn̩]. winken is at rank #16,881, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪŋkn̩].
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 29086, this pair ranks #1,773,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wiegen vs winken
Shared letters: einw. Private to "wiegen": g. Private to "winken": k.
"wiegen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "winken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wiegen" and "winken" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "wiegen" vs "winken" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wiegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "winken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,773,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wiegen" and "winken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wickel vs winken". 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 #1,773,311 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.