GebeinevsgemeinWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Gebeine is a noun, gemein is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Gebeine and gemein apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Gebeine
6 ch
gemein

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • Gebeineegbeine · gbeeine · gebbeine · gebeien · gebeinne · gebenie · gebiene · geebine
  • gemeinegmein · geemin · gemeinn · gemeni · gemien · gemmein · ggemein · gmeein

Frequency comparison

Gebeine#34,113
gemein#5,262

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gebeine" and "gemein" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gebeine" is a noun and "gemein" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Gebeine" or "gemein"?
"gemein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,262 in our German list, against #34,113 for "Gebeine". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Gebeine vs gemein

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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