GebotevsGeisteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,552
“Gebote” frequency rank
#18,259
“Geiste” frequency rank
27811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gebote Geiste
Definition veraltend: Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gebot Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Geist

Where the eye mixes Gebote and Geiste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Gebote (CVCVCV) and Geiste (CVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Gebote
6 ch
Geiste

Why the eye confuses Gebote with Geiste

A purely visual mix-up. Gebote ([ɡəˈboːtə]) and Geiste ([ˈɡaɪ̯stə]) 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 27811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gebote is recorded at frequency rank #9,552, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈboːtə]. Geiste is at rank #18,259, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaɪ̯stə].

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 27811, this pair ranks #1,795,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gebote vs Geiste

Shared letters: egt. Private to "Gebote": bo. Private to "Geiste": is.

"Gebote" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "Geiste" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gebote ← egbote · gbeote · gebbote · geboet · gebotte · gebtoe · geobte · ggebote
  • Geiste ← egiste · geiset · geisste · geistte · geitse · gesite · ggeiste · gieste

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gebote" and "Geiste" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈboːtə] versus [ˈɡaɪ̯stə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gebote" or "Geiste"?
"Gebote" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,552 in our German list, against #18,259 for "Geiste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gebote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Geiste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,795,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gebote" and "Geiste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geis vs Geiste". 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 #1,795,449 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