gebenvsgebtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#229
“geben” frequency rank
#5,485
“gebt” frequency rank
5714
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geben gebt
Definition jemandem etwas reichen beziehungsweise in die Nähe oder Hände legen 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs geben

Where the eye mixes geben and gebt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
geben
4 ch
gebt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. geben ([ˈɡeːbn̩]) and gebt ([ɡeːpt]) 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 5714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geben is recorded at frequency rank #229, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡeːbn̩]. gebt is at rank #5,485, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡeːpt].

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 5714, this pair ranks #1,993,959 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geben vs gebt

Shared letters: beg. Private to "geben": n. Private to "gebt": t.

"geben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "gebt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebenegben · gbeen · gebben · gebenn · gebne · geebn · ggeben
  • gebtegbt · gbet · gebbt · gebtt · getb · ggebt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geben" and "gebt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡeːbn̩] versus [ɡeːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geben" or "gebt"?
"geben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #229 in our German list, against #5,485 for "gebt". 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 "geben" and "gebt". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gebt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,993,959 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geben" and "gebt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gebets vs gebt". 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