GasesvsgatesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#45,952
“Gases” frequency rank
#12,080
“gates” frequency rank
58032
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gases gates
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gas 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gate

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Gases
5 ch
gates

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gases is [ˈɡaːzəs] while gates is [ɡeɪts]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “Gases” becomes t in “gates”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58032, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gases is recorded at frequency rank #45,952, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaːzəs]. 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 58032, this pair ranks #878,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gases vs gates

Shared letters: aegs. Private to "Gases": -. Private to "gates": t.

"Gases" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "gates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gasesagses · gaess · gasess · gasses · ggases · gsaes
  • gatesagtes · gaets · gatess · gatse · gattes · ggates · gtaes

Frequency comparison

Gases#45,952
gates#12,080

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gases" and "gates" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gases" is a noun and "gates" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Gases" or "gates"?
"gates" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,080 in our German list, against #45,952 for "Gases". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Gases vs gates

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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