Which to use
“gähnen” and “gasen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,551
- “gähnen” frequency rank
- #39,952
- “gasen” frequency rank
- 82503
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gähnen | gasen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Mund mit Einatmen und Ausatmen als Zeichen der Müdigkeit weit aufsperren | Gas verlieren, freisetzen |
Where the eye mixes gähnen and gasen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between gähnen and gasen
A purely visual mix-up. gähnen ([ˈɡɛːnən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gähnen is recorded at frequency rank #42,551, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡɛːnən]. 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 82503, this pair ranks #156,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gähnen vs gasen
Shared letters: egn. Private to "gähnen": hä. Private to "gasen": as.
"gähnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "gasen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gasen ← agsen · gaesn · gasenn · gasne · ggasen · gsaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gähnen" for "gasen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gähnen" vs "gasen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "gähnen" and "gasen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gähnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gasen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gähnen" and "gasen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gasen vs given". 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 #156,097 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.