wohinvswovonWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,630
“wohin” frequency rank
#3,785
“wovon” frequency rank
6415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wohin wovon
Definition zu welchem Ziel, in welche Richtung von welcher Sache/Angelegenheit

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wohin and wovon apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wohin
5 ch
wovon

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wohin ([voˈhɪn]) and wovon ([voˈfɔn]) 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 6415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wohin is recorded at frequency rank #2,630, classified as anadv, pronounced [voˈhɪn]. wovon is at rank #3,785, tagged as anadv, pronounced [voˈfɔn].

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 6415, this pair ranks #1,991,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wohin vs wovon

Shared letters: now. Private to "wohin": hi. Private to "wovon": v.

"wohin" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "wovon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wohinowhin · whoin · wohhin · wohinn · wohni · woihn · wwohin
  • wovonowvon · woovn · wovno · wovonn · wovvon · wvoon · wwovon

Frequency comparison

wohin#2,630
wovon#3,785

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wohin" and "wovon" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([voˈhɪn] versus [voˈfɔn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wohin" or "wovon"?
"wohin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,630 in our German list, against #3,785 for "wovon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wohin vs wovon

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 “wohin” 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