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 spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set entgegen and entgehen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
entgegen and entgehen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - g in “entgegen” becomes h in “entgehen” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "entgegen" and "entgehen" be used interchangeably?
Remembering entgegen vs entgehen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “entgegen”; for a verb, it's “entgehen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “entgegen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable