gebarvsGeierWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#36,346
“gebar” frequency rank
#15,891
“Geier” frequency rank
52237
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebar Geier
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gebären ein Raubvogel aus der Unterfamilie der Altweltgeier (Aegypiinae) und/oder der Familie Neuweltgeier (Cathartidae)

Where the eye mixes gebar and Geier

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. gebar (CVCVC) and Geier (CVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
gebar
5 ch
Geier

Why the eye confuses gebar with Geier

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebar is [ɡəˈbaːɐ̯] while Geier is [ˈɡaɪ̯ɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52237, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebar is recorded at frequency rank #36,346, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbaːɐ̯]. Geier is at rank #15,891, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaɪ̯ɐ].

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 52237, this pair ranks #1,104,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gebar vs Geier

Shared letters: egr. Private to "gebar": ab. Private to "Geier": i.

"gebar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Geier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebar ← egbar · gbear · geabr · gebarr · gebbar · gebra · ggebar
  • Geier ← egier · geeir · geierr · geire · ggeier · gieer

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebar" and "Geier" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gebar" is a verb and "Geier" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gebar" or "Geier"?
"Geier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,891 in our German list, against #36,346 for "gebar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gebar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Geier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,104,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebar" and "Geier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "GBA vs gebar". 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 #1,104,700 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list