GebäckvsgebautWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Gebäck is a noun, gebaut is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Gebäck” is a noun and “gebaut” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,586
“Gebäck” frequency rank
#1,514
“gebaut” frequency rank
22100
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gebäck gebaut
Definition Speise auf Mehlbasis, welche auf einem Backblech oder in einer Form in einem Ofen oder in Fett in einer Pfanne eine ausreichend lange Zeit ausgebacken wurde durch Fertigung, Herstellung, Produktion oder Ähnliches entstanden seiend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Gebäck and gebaut apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Gebäck
6 ch
gebaut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gebäck is [ɡəˈbɛk] while gebaut is [ɡəˈbaʊ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gebäck is recorded at frequency rank #20,586, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbɛk]. gebaut is at rank #1,514, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbaʊ̯t].

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 22100, this pair ranks #1,878,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gebäck vs gebaut

Shared letters: beg. Private to "Gebäck": ckä. Private to "gebaut": atu.

"Gebäck" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "gebaut" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebautegbaut · gbeaut · geabut · gebatu · gebautt · gebbaut · gebuat · ggebaut

Frequency comparison

Gebäck#20,586
gebaut#1,514

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gebäck" and "gebaut" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gebäck" is a noun and "gebaut" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Gebäck" or "gebaut"?
"gebaut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,514 in our German list, against #20,586 for "Gebäck". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Gebäck vs gebaut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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