gebenvsgöbelWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#229
“geben” frequency rank
#37,550
“göbel” frequency rank
37779
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geben göbel
Definition jemandem etwas reichen beziehungsweise in die Nähe oder Hände legen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs göbeln

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set geben and göbel apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
geben
5 ch
göbel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. geben ([ˈɡeːbn̩]) and göbel ([ˈɡøːbl̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37779, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geben is recorded at frequency rank #229, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡeːbn̩]. göbel is at rank #37,550, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡøːbl̩].

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 37779, this pair ranks #1,581,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geben vs göbel

Shared letters: beg. Private to "geben": n. Private to "göbel": .

"geben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "göbel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebenegben · gbeen · gebben · gebenn · gebne · geebn · ggeben

Frequency comparison

geben#229
göbel#37,550

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geben" and "göbel" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈɡøːbl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geben" or "göbel"?
"geben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #229 in our German list, against #37,550 for "göbel". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering geben vs göbel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “geben” 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