gebärenvsgenauenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gebären is a verb, genauen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gebären” is a verb and “genauen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,736
“gebären” frequency rank
#6,068
“genauen” frequency rank
33804
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebären genauen
Definition ein Kind zur Welt bringen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs genau

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gebären and genauen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
gebären
7 ch
genauen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebären is [ɡəˈbɛːʁən] while genauen is [ɡəˈnaʊ̯ən]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33804, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebären is recorded at frequency rank #27,736, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbɛːʁən]. genauen is at rank #6,068, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈnaʊ̯ən].

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 33804, this pair ranks #1,677,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebären vs genauen

Shared letters: egn. Private to "gebären": brä. Private to "genauen": au.

"gebären" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "genauen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • genauenegnauen · geanuen · genaeun · genauenn · genaune · gennauen · genuaen · ggenauen

Frequency comparison

gebären#27,736
genauen#6,068

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebären" and "genauen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gebären" is a verb and "genauen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gebären" or "genauen"?
"genauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,068 in our German list, against #27,736 for "gebären". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gebären vs genauen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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