Which to use
“we're” is a contraction and “weir” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #394
- “we're” frequency rank
- #14,670
- “weir” frequency rank
- 15064
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | we're | weir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contraction of we + are. | An adjustable dam placed across a river to regulate the flow of water downstream. |
Where the eye mixes we're and weir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: we're is /wɪə/ while weir is /wɪə̯/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
we're is recorded at frequency rank #394, classified as acontraction, pronounced /wɪə/. weir is at rank #14,670, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɪə̯/.
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 15064, this pair ranks #466,282 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of we're vs weir
Shared letters: erw. Private to "we're": -. Private to "weir": i.
"we're" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "weir" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- weir ← ewir · weirr · weri · wweir