Which to use
“Gebeine” is a noun and “gemein” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,113
- “Gebeine” frequency rank
- #5,262
- “gemein” frequency rank
- 39375
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gebeine | gemein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gebein | eine Eigenschaft habend, die mehreren gemeinsam ist |
Where the eye mixes Gebeine and gemein
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Gebeine runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against gemein's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Gebeine and gemein
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gebeine is [ɡəˈbaɪ̯nə] while gemein is [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39375, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gebeine is recorded at frequency rank #34,113, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbaɪ̯nə]. gemein is at rank #5,262, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n].
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 39375, this pair ranks #1,538,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Gebeine vs gemein
Shared letters: egin. Private to "Gebeine": b. Private to "gemein": m.
"Gebeine" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "gemein" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Gebeine" and "gemein" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Gebeine" vs "gemein" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gebeine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gemein" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,538,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gebeine" and "gemein" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gebeine vs gemeines". 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 #1,538,539 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.