Which to use
“entgegen” is a preposition and “entgehen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,724
- “entgegen” frequency rank
- #7,165
- “entgehen” frequency rank
- 8889
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entgegen | entgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Dativ (seltener Genitiv,Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod.Der Spiegelentgegen.Variantengrammatik des Standarddeutschen(aktualisierter Artikel. mit Verbreitungsgrafiken); vergl.entgegen + Dativ/Genitiv. nicht im Einklang mit etwas; zuwider | von etwas Unerwünschtem nicht betroffen werden, etwas Unerwünschtes vermeiden |
Where the eye mixes entgegen and entgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entgegen and entgehen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between entgegen and entgehen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entgegen is [ɛntˈɡeːɡn̩] while entgehen is [ɛntˈɡeːən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “entgegen” becomes h in “entgehen”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entgegen is recorded at frequency rank #1,724, classified as aprep, pronounced [ɛntˈɡeːɡn̩]. entgehen is at rank #7,165, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈɡeːən].
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 8889, this pair ranks #1,982,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of entgegen vs entgehen
Shared letters: egnt. Private to "entgegen": -. Private to "entgehen": h.
"entgegen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "entgehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "entgegen" for "entgehen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "entgegen" or "entgehen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "entgegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entgehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,982,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entgegen" and "entgehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entbehren vs entgehen". 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 #1,982,358 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.