GebietenvsGebietsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,887
“Gebieten” frequency rank
#23,524
“Gebiets” frequency rank
27411
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gebieten Gebiets
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gebiet Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gebiet

Where the eye mixes Gebieten and Gebiets

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

8 ch
Gebieten
7 ch
Gebiets

Why the eye confuses Gebieten with Gebiets

A purely visual mix-up. Gebieten ([ɡəˈbiːtn̩]) and Gebiets ([ɡəˈbiːt͡s]) 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 27411, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gebieten is recorded at frequency rank #3,887, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbiːtn̩]. Gebiets is at rank #23,524, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbiːt͡s].

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 27411, this pair ranks #1,802,206 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gebieten vs Gebiets

Shared letters: begit. Private to "Gebieten": n. Private to "Gebiets": s.

"Gebieten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "Gebiets" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gebieten ← egbieten · gbeieten · gebbieten · gebeiten · gebieetn · gebietenn · gebietne · gebietten
  • Gebiets ← egbiets · gbeiets · gebbiets · gebeits · gebiest · gebietss · gebietts · gebites

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gebieten" and "Gebiets" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbiːtn̩] versus [ɡəˈbiːt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Gebieten" or "Gebiets" show up more?
"Gebieten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,887 in our German list, against #23,524 for "Gebiets". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Gebieten" and "Gebiets" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gebieten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gebiets" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,802,206 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gebieten" and "Gebiets" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gebets vs Gebiets". 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 #1,802,206 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