geballtevsgebauteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,062
“geballte” frequency rank
#18,253
“gebaute” frequency rank
51315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geballte gebaute
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs geballt Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gebaut

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set geballte and gebaute apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
geballte
7 ch
gebaute

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. geballte ([ɡəˈbaltə]) and gebaute ([ɡəˈbaʊ̯tə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geballte is recorded at frequency rank #33,062, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbaltə]. gebaute is at rank #18,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbaʊ̯tə].

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 51315, this pair ranks #1,140,175 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of geballte vs gebaute

Shared letters: abegt. Private to "geballte": l. Private to "gebaute": u.

"geballte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV  ·  "gebaute" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geballteegballte · gbeallte · geabllte · geballet · geballtte · gebalte · gebaltle · gebballte
  • gebauteegbaute · gbeaute · geabute · gebatue · gebauet · gebautte · gebbaute · gebuate

Frequency comparison

geballte#33,062
gebaute#18,253

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geballte" and "gebaute" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbaltə] versus [ɡəˈbaʊ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geballte" or "gebaute"?
"gebaute" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,253 in our German list, against #33,062 for "geballte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering geballte vs gebaute

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “geballte” 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