garvsgutTell them apart

Which to use

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

#213
“gar” frequency rank
#89
“gut” frequency rank
302
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gar gut
Definition gegart, gut gekocht, durchgebraten, durchgebacken vom Menschen her positiv bewertet, empfunden, gefühlt und dergleichen

Where the eye mixes gar and gut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
gar
3 ch
gut

Visual trap between gar and gut

A purely visual mix-up. gar ([ɡaːɐ̯]) and gut ([ɡuːt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gar is recorded at frequency rank #213, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡaːɐ̯]. gut is at rank #89, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡuːt].

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 302, this pair ranks #2,006,027 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gar vs gut

Shared letters: g. Private to "gar": ar. Private to "gut": tu.

"gar" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "gut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gar" and "gut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡaːɐ̯] versus [ɡuːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gar" vs "gut" - which ranks higher?
"gut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #89 in our German list, against #213 for "gar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,006,027 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gar" and "gut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs gar". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #2,006,027 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