GebeinevsGemeinenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,113
“Gebeine” frequency rank
#19,587
“Gemeinen” frequency rank
53700
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gebeine Gemeinen
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gebein Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Gemein

Where the eye mixes Gebeine and Gemeinen

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

7 ch
Gebeine
8 ch
Gemeinen

Look-alike desk: Gebeine vs Gemeinen

A purely visual mix-up. Gebeine ([ɡəˈbaɪ̯nə]) and Gemeinen ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯nən]) 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 53700, 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]. Gemeinen is at rank #19,587, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯nən].

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 53700, this pair ranks #1,047,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gebeine vs Gemeinen

Shared letters: egin. Private to "Gebeine": b. Private to "Gemeinen": m.

"Gebeine" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "Gemeinen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gebeine ← egbeine · gbeeine · gebbeine · gebeien · gebeinne · gebenie · gebiene · geebine
  • Gemeinen ← egmeinen · geeminen · gemeienn · gemeinenn · gemeinnen · gemenien · gemienen · gemmeinen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gebeine" for "Gemeinen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbaɪ̯nə] versus [ɡəˈmaɪ̯nən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gebeine" vs "Gemeinen" - which ranks higher?
"Gemeinen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,587 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.

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 "Gemeinen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,047,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gebeine" and "Gemeinen" 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 #1,047,795 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