weichen
[ˈvaɪ̯çn̩]
The verdict
“weichen” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #4,396 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #4,396
- frequency rank, German
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - sich entfernen, weggehen/Platz machen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | weichen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈvaɪ̯çn̩] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #4,396 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “weichen” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for weichen is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈvaɪ̯çn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #4,396 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for weichen, with forms such as "ewichen", "wecihen", and "weicchen". 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, "Weihe", "welche", "Wochen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is weichen, spelled W-E-I-C-H-E-N.
Definition
- 1sich entfernen, weggehen/Platz machen
- 2nach und nach die Wirkung verlieren, mit der Zeit nachlassen
- 3sich von jemandem wegbewegen, sich von ihm zurückziehen
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ewichen,wecihen,weicchen,weicehn,weichenn,weichhen,weichne,weihcen,wiechen,wweichen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of weichen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "weichen"?
What does "weichen" mean?
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Using “weichen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is W-E-I-C-H-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈvaɪ̯çn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Weihe” - see the side-by-side comparison. weichen vs Weihe
- 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.