wachen

[ˈvaxn̩]

/[ˈvaxn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“wachen” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #10,970. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,970
frequency rank, German
2,930
“W” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nicht schlafen, ohne Schlaf bleiben

Corpus desk

Index DE-wachen · wachen · German

wachen · rank #10,970 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,970
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,930
  • PHOTO-FINISH Waage

Nearest frequency peer: Waage (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „wachen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „wachen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

wachen vs when
67% similar
wachen vs Wahn
50% similar
wachen vs waren
67% similar

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

Key facts for wachen
PropertyValue
Headwordwachen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈvaxn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,970
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „wachen“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).wachenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Waage“ (#10,969), „Wasserstoff“ (#10,971), „vorüber“ (#10,968). Unter 2,930 „W“-Lemmata liegt „wachen“ bei #10,970. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around wachen (IPA [ˈvaxn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #10,970 among 2,930 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for wachen, with forms such as "awchen", "wacchen", and "wacehn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "when", "Wahn", "waren", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is wachen, spelled W-A-C-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    nicht schlafen, ohne Schlaf bleiben
  2. 2
    auf jemand oder etwas aufpassen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how wachen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Da sagte er zu Petrus: Konntet ihr nicht einmal eine Stunde mit mir wachen? Wacht und betet, damit ihr nicht in Versuchung geratet.“
  2. Die Mutter wachte über ihr krankes Kind.

Antonyms

schlafen

This word in other languages

watch over(English)velar(Español)veiller(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • awchen
  • wacchen
  • wacehn
  • wachenn
  • wachhen
  • wachne
  • wahcen
  • wcahen
  • wwachen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wachen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

awchen2wacchen1wacehn2wachenn1wachhen1wachne2wahcen2wcahen2
Edit distance from "wachen"

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 "wachen"?
"wachen" is spelled W-A-C-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈvaxn̩].
What does "wachen" mean?
As a verb, "wachen" means: nicht schlafen, ohne Schlaf bleiben
What words are commonly confused with "wachen"?
"wachen" is commonly confused with "when", "Wahn", "waren". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wachen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wachen" is [ˈvaxn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "wachen" come from?
"wachen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wachen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Umland#10,956Tötung#10,955Stalin#10,945Sperre#10,943

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

silver9 variantssecond9 variantsRoutine9 variantsFrosch9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list