entgehenvsentstehenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,165
“entgehen” frequency rank
#1,475
“entstehen” frequency rank
8640
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entgehen entstehen
Definition von etwas Unerwünschtem nicht betroffen werden, etwas Unerwünschtes vermeiden seine Existenz beginnen

Where the eye mixes entgehen and entstehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entgehen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against entstehen's 9 (VCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
entgehen
9 ch
entstehen

Visual trap between entgehen and entstehen

A purely visual mix-up. entgehen ([ɛntˈɡeːən]) and entstehen ([ɛntˈʃteːən]) 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 8640, 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]. entstehen is at rank #1,475, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃteːən].

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 8640, this pair ranks #1,983,474 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entgehen vs entstehen

Shared letters: ehnt. Private to "entgehen": g. Private to "entstehen": s.

"entgehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "entstehen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entgehen ← engtehen · enntgehen · enteghen · entgeehn · entgehenn · entgehhen · entgehne · entggehen
  • entstehen ← enntstehen · ensttehen · entsethen · entsstehen · entsteehn · entstehenn · entstehhen · entstehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entgehen" and "entstehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈɡeːən] versus [ɛntˈʃteːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entgehen" or "entstehen"?
"entstehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,475 in our German list, against #7,165 for "entgehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "entgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entstehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,983,474 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entgehen" and "entstehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entstehe vs entstehen". 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 #1,983,474 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