GebeinevsGemeindeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,113
“Gebeine” frequency rank
#792
“Gemeinde” frequency rank
34905
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gebeine Gemeinde
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gebein gesellschaftliches Gebilde: Gemeinschaft mit höherem Organisationsgrad

Where the eye mixes Gebeine and Gemeinde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Gebeine runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against Gemeinde's 8 (CVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Gebeine
8 ch
Gemeinde

Look-alike desk: Gebeine vs Gemeinde

A purely visual mix-up. Gebeine ([ɡəˈbaɪ̯nə]) and Gemeinde ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯ndə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34905, 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]. Gemeinde is at rank #792, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯ndə].

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 34905, this pair ranks #1,652,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gebeine vs Gemeinde

Shared letters: egin. Private to "Gebeine": b. Private to "Gemeinde": dm.

"Gebeine" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "Gemeinde" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gebeine ← egbeine · gbeeine · gebbeine · gebeien · gebeinne · gebenie · gebiene · geebine
  • Gemeinde ← egmeinde · geeminde · gemeidne · gemeindde · gemeined · gemeinnde · gemenide · gemiende

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gebeine" for "Gemeinde" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbaɪ̯nə] versus [ɡəˈmaɪ̯ndə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gebeine" vs "Gemeinde" - which ranks higher?
"Gemeinde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #792 in our German list, against #34,113 for "Gebeine". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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 "Gemeinde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,652,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gebeine" and "Gemeinde" 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 #1,652,588 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