gebevsgibtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,078
“gebe” frequency rank
#90
“gibt” frequency rank
1168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebe gibt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs geben 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs geben

Where the eye mixes gebe and gibt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
gebe
4 ch
gibt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gebe ([ˈɡeːbə]) and gibt ([ɡiːpt]) 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 1168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebe is recorded at frequency rank #1,078, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡeːbə]. gibt is at rank #90, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡiːpt].

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 1168, this pair ranks #2,004,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebe vs gibt

Shared letters: bg. Private to "gebe": e. Private to "gibt": it.

"gebe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "gibt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebeegbe · gbee · gebbe · geeb · ggebe
  • gibtgbit · ggibt · gibbt · gibtt · gitb · igbt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebe" and "gibt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡeːbə] versus [ɡiːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gebe" or "gibt"?
"gibt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #90 in our German list, against #1,078 for "gebe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "gebe" and "gibt". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gibt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,004,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebe" and "gibt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gibt vs GIMP". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list