wa

[vɑ̃]

/[vɑ̃]/ particle

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“wa” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #6,747 in German word frequency and used as a particle.

#6,747
frequency rank, German
2
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - verschliffene Floskel für die eingeschobene, rhetorische Frage „Gelt es?“, „Gilt es?“, „Habe ich recht?“ oder „Nicht wahr?“, „Stimmt es?“, um sich der (vorausgesetzten) Zustimmung zu versichern. Di...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wa vs wo
50% similar
wa vs WM
0% similar
wa vs WE
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for wa
PropertyValue
Headwordwa
LanguageGerman
Part of speechParticle
IPA[vɑ̃]
Letters2
Frequency rank#6,747
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wa” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). wa lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for wa is 2 letters long, classified as a particle, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [vɑ̃]. Corpus data places it at rank #6,747 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "verschliffene Floskel für die eingeschobene, rhetorische Frage „Gelt es?“, „Gilt es?“, „Habe ich recht?“ oder „Nicht wahr?“, „Stimmt es?“, um sich der (vorausgesetzten) Zustimmung zu versichern. Di...".

No generated misspelling entries exist for wa in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wo", "WM", "WE", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is wa, spelled W-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    verschliffene Floskel für die eingeschobene, rhetorische Frage „Gelt es?“, „Gilt es?“, „Habe ich recht?“ oder „Nicht wahr?“, „Stimmt es?“, um sich der (vorausgesetzten) Zustimmung zu versichern. Die Frage wird nicht oder nur mit der gleichen Floskel beantwortet.

Synonyms

gelt esgilt esnicht wahr

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wa"?
"wa" is spelled W-A. The IPA pronunciation is [vɑ̃].
What does "wa" mean?
As a particle, "wa" means: verschliffene Floskel für die eingeschobene, rhetorische Frage „Gelt es?“, „Gilt es?“, „Habe ich recht?“ oder „Nicht wahr?“, „Stimmt es?“, um sich der (vorausgesetzten) Zustimmung zu versichern. Di...
What words are commonly confused with "wa"?
"wa" is commonly confused with "wo", "WM", "WE". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wa" is [vɑ̃]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "wa" come from?
"wa" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “wa”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is W-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [vɑ̃] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “wo” - see the side-by-side comparison. wa vs wo
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list