Which to use
“gate” is a noun and “gutem” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,712
- “gate” frequency rank
- #4,125
- “gutem” frequency rank
- 16837
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gate | gutem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bewegliche, türähnliche Sperre, die den Zugang zu einem umzäunten oder durch Mauern eingeschlossenen Gelände bildet | Dativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gut |
Where the eye mixes gate and gutem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. gate runs 4 letters (CVCV) against gutem's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gate with gutem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gate is [ɡeɪt] while gutem is [ˈɡuːtəm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gate is recorded at frequency rank #12,712, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡeɪt]. gutem is at rank #4,125, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡuːtəm].
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 16837, this pair ranks #1,932,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gate vs gutem
Shared letters: egt. Private to "gate": a. Private to "gutem": mu.
"gate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "gutem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gate" for "gutem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gate" or "gutem"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gutem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,932,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gate" and "gutem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gao vs gate". 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 #1,932,618 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.