wischenvswischtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,766
“wischen” frequency rank
#31,376
“wischt” frequency rank
50142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wischen wischt
Definition etwas, zum Beispiel Schmutz von einer Oberfläche, entfernen, eventuell mit einem Lappen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs wischen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wischen and wischt apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
wischen
6 ch
wischt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wischen ([ˈvɪʃn̩]) and wischt ([vɪʃt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wischen is recorded at frequency rank #18,766, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪʃn̩]. wischt is at rank #31,376, tagged as averb, pronounced [vɪʃt].

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 50142, this pair ranks #1,185,051 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wischen vs wischt

Shared letters: chisw. Private to "wischen": en. Private to "wischt": t.

"wischen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "wischt" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wischeniwschen · wiscchen · wiscehn · wischenn · wischhen · wischne · wishcen · wisschen
  • wischtiwscht · wicsht · wisccht · wischht · wischtt · wiscth · wishct · wisscht

Frequency comparison

wischen#18,766
wischt#31,376

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wischen" and "wischt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɪʃn̩] versus [vɪʃt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wischen" or "wischt"?
"wischen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,766 in our German list, against #31,376 for "wischt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wischen vs wischt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wischen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list