wähnen

[ˈvɛːnən]

/[ˈvɛːnən]/ verb

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

The verdict

“wähnen” is uncommon German (frequency #63,031 among 38,697 “W” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,031
frequency rank, German
38,697
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (fälschlich) der Meinung sein, dass ein Sachverhalt zutrifft

Key facts for wähnen
PropertyValue
Headwordwähnen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈvɛːnən]
Letters6
Frequency rank#63,031
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wähnen” 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). wähnen lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

wähnen is uncommon German at frequency #63,031 among 38,697 “W” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈvɛːnən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

wähnen doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is wähnen, spelled W-Ä-H-N-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    (fälschlich) der Meinung sein, dass ein Sachverhalt zutrifft
  2. 2
    jemanden an einem bestimmten Ort vermuten; (fälschlich) glauben, dass sich jemand an einem bestimmten Ort befindet

This word in other languages

imagine(English)creer(Español)croire(Français)

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 "wähnen"?
"wähnen" is spelled W-Ä-H-N-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈvɛːnən].
What does "wähnen" mean?
As a verb, "wähnen" means: (fälschlich) der Meinung sein, dass ein Sachverhalt zutrifft
How do you pronounce "wähnen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wähnen" is [ˈvɛːnən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "wähnen" come from?
"wähnen" 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 “wähnen”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is W-Ä-H-N-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈvɛːnən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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