gamesvsgatesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: games is a noun, gates is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“games” is a noun and “gates” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,526
“games” frequency rank
#12,080
“gates” frequency rank
15606
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature games gates
Definition Plural des Substantivs game 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gate

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
games
5 ch
gates

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

games and gates form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - m in “games” becomes t in “gates” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

games is recorded at frequency rank #3,526, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡeɪmz]. gates is at rank #12,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡeɪts].

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 15606, this pair ranks #1,942,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

games#3,526
gates#12,080

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "games" and "gates" be used interchangeably?
No, "games" and "gates" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering games vs gates

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “games”; for a verb, it's “gates”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “games” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list