we'revsweirTell them apart

Quick tell: we're is a contraction, weir is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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.

#41,696
“we're” frequency rank
#46,882
“weir” frequency rank
88578
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature we're weir
Definition Contracción de we are. Nosotros somos o nosotros estamos. Una presa ajustable localizada a lo ancho de un río para regular el flujo de agua río abajo; presa, dique.

Where the eye mixes we're and weir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. we're (CVCV) and weir (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
we're
4 ch
weir

Visual trap between we're and weir

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: we're is /wɪə(ɹ)/ (tónico) while weir is /wɪə/. 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 88578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

we're is recorded at frequency rank #41,696, classified as acontraction, pronounced /wɪə(ɹ)/ (tónico). weir is at rank #46,882, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɪə/.

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 88578, this pair ranks #3,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

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 · wier · wweir

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "we're" for "weir" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "we're" is a contraction and "weir" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "we're" or "weir"?
"we're" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,696 in our Spanish list, against #46,882 for "weir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "we're" and "weir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "we're" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "weir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #3,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "we're" and "weir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weir vs weón". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #3,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list