gabenvsgasenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,594
“gaben” frequency rank
#39,952
“gasen” frequency rank
42546
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gaben gasen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs geben Gas verlieren, freisetzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gaben and gasen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
gaben
5 ch
gasen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gaben ([ˈɡaːbn̩]) and gasen ([ˈɡaːzn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “gaben” becomes s in “gasen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gaben is recorded at frequency rank #2,594, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡaːbn̩]. gasen is at rank #39,952, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡaːzn̩].

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 42546, this pair ranks #1,446,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gaben vs gasen

Shared letters: aegn. Private to "gaben": b. Private to "gasen": s.

"gaben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "gasen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gabenagben · gabben · gabenn · gabne · gaebn · gbaen · ggaben
  • gasenagsen · gaesn · gasenn · gasne · ggasen · gsaen

Frequency comparison

gaben#2,594
gasen#39,952

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gaben" and "gasen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡaːbn̩] versus [ˈɡaːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gaben" or "gasen"?
"gaben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,594 in our German list, against #39,952 for "gasen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gaben vs gasen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gaben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list