Which to use
“gähnen” and “gehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,551
- “gähnen” frequency rank
- #209
- “gehen” frequency rank
- 42760
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gähnen | gehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Mund mit Einatmen und Ausatmen als Zeichen der Müdigkeit weit aufsperren | sich schreitend, schrittweise fortbewegen |
Where the eye mixes gähnen and gehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gähnen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against gehen's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gähnen vs gehen
A purely visual mix-up. gähnen ([ˈɡɛːnən]) and gehen ([ˈɡeːən]) 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 42760, 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]. gehen is at rank #209, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡeːən].
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 42760, this pair ranks #1,439,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gähnen vs gehen
Shared letters: eghn. Private to "gähnen": ä. Private to "gehen": -.
"gähnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "gehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gehen ← eghen · geehn · gehenn · gehhen · gehne · ggehen · gheen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gähnen" for "gehen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gähnen" vs "gehen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gähnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,439,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gähnen" and "gehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gähnen vs gasen". 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 #1,439,333 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.