GaunervsGegnerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,565
“Gauner” frequency rank
#1,595
“Gegner” frequency rank
32160
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gauner Gegner
Definition eine Person, die auf Kosten eines anderen versucht, sich durch Betrug einen Vorteil zu verschaffen, in dem die Unwissenheit beziehungsweise Unaufmerksamkeit des anderen ausgenutzt wird Person oder Institution/Organisation, die gegenteilige Interessen verfolgt

Where the eye mixes Gauner and Gegner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Gauner
6 ch
Gegner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Gauner ([ˈɡaʊ̯nɐ]) and Gegner ([ˈɡeːɡnɐ]) 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 32160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gauner is recorded at frequency rank #30,565, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaʊ̯nɐ]. Gegner is at rank #1,595, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡeːɡnɐ].

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 32160, this pair ranks #1,713,453 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gauner vs Gegner

Shared letters: egnr. Private to "Gauner": au. Private to "Gegner": -.

"Gauner" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Gegner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gauneraguner · ganuer · gauenr · gaunerr · gaunner · gaunre · ggauner · guaner
  • Gegnereggner · gegenr · geggner · gegnerr · gegnner · gegnre · genger · ggegner

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gauner" and "Gegner" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡaʊ̯nɐ] versus [ˈɡeːɡnɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gauner" or "Gegner"?
"Gegner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,595 in our German list, against #30,565 for "Gauner". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list