entgehenvsentgehtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“entgehen” and “entgeht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,165
“entgehen” frequency rank
#23,496
“entgeht” frequency rank
30661
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entgehen entgeht
Definition von etwas Unerwünschtem nicht betroffen werden, etwas Unerwünschtes vermeiden 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entgehen

Where the eye mixes entgehen and entgeht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. entgehen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against entgeht's 7 (VCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
entgehen
7 ch
entgeht

Why the eye confuses entgehen with entgeht

A purely visual mix-up. entgehen ([ɛntˈɡeːən]) and entgeht ([ɛntˈɡeːt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entgehen is recorded at frequency rank #7,165, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈɡeːən]. entgeht is at rank #23,496, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈɡeːt].

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 30661, this pair ranks #1,743,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entgehen vs entgeht

Shared letters: eghnt. Private to "entgehen": -. Private to "entgeht": -.

"entgehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "entgeht" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entgehen ← engtehen · enntgehen · enteghen · entgeehn · entgehenn · entgehhen · entgehne · entggehen
  • entgeht ← engteht · enntgeht · enteght · entgehht · entgehtt · entgeth · entggeht · entghet

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "entgehen" and "entgeht" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈɡeːən] versus [ɛntˈɡeːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "entgehen" or "entgeht" show up more?
"entgehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,165 in our German list, against #23,496 for "entgeht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "entgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entgeht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,743,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entgehen" and "entgeht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entgeht vs entlehnt". 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 #1,743,525 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list