Which to use
“wischen” and “wissen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,766
- “wischen” frequency rank
- #263
- “wissen” frequency rank
- 19029
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wischen | wissen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas, zum Beispiel Schmutz von einer Oberfläche, entfernen, eventuell mit einem Lappen | von etwas oder jemandem Kenntnis haben durch Mitteilung oder Erfahrung; sich über etwas sicher, bewusst sein |
Where the eye mixes wischen and wissen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. wischen runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against wissen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses wischen with wissen
A purely visual mix-up. wischen ([ˈvɪʃn̩]) and wissen ([ˈvɪsn̩]) 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 19029, 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]. wissen is at rank #263, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪsn̩].
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 19029, this pair ranks #1,912,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wischen vs wissen
Shared letters: einsw. Private to "wischen": ch. Private to "wissen": -.
"wischen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "wissen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wischen" for "wissen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wischen" or "wissen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wischen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wissen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,912,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wischen" and "wissen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Weilchen vs wischen". 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 #1,912,512 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.