Which to use
“wether” is a noun and “wither” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,242
- “wether” frequency rank
- #28,431
- “wither” frequency rank
- 66673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wether | wither |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A castrated goat. | To shrivel, droop or dry up, especially from lack of water. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wether and wither apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wether is /ˈwɛðɚ/ while wither is /ˈwɪðɚ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “wether” becomes i in “wither”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wether is recorded at frequency rank #38,242, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈwɛðɚ/. wither is at rank #28,431, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈwɪðɚ/.
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 66673, this pair ranks #66,902 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of wether vs wither
Shared letters: ehrtw. Private to "wether": -. Private to "wither": i.
"wether" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "wither" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wether" and "wither" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wether" or "wither"?
Remembering wether vs wither
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “wether”; for a verb, it's “wither”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wether” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable