Which to use
“gebrauchen” is a verb and “gebraucht” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,986
- “gebrauchen” frequency rank
- #2,107
- “gebraucht” frequency rank
- 7093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gebrauchen | gebraucht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas verwenden, benutzen | bereits verwendet, nicht neu |
Where the eye mixes gebrauchen and gebraucht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gebrauchen runs 10 letters (CVCCVVCCVC) against gebraucht's 9 (CVCCVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gebrauchen with gebraucht
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebrauchen is [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xn̩] while gebraucht is [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gebrauchen is recorded at frequency rank #4,986, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xn̩]. gebraucht is at rank #2,107, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xt].
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 7093, this pair ranks #1,989,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gebrauchen vs gebraucht
Shared letters: abceghru. Private to "gebrauchen": n. Private to "gebraucht": t.
"gebrauchen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC · "gebraucht" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gebrauchen ← egbrauchen · gberauchen · gebaruchen · gebbrauchen · gebracuhen · gebraucchen · gebraucehn · gebrauchenn
- gebraucht ← egbraucht · gberaucht · gebarucht · gebbraucht · gebracuht · gebrauccht · gebrauchht · gebrauchtt
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gebrauchen" and "gebraucht" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "gebrauchen" vs "gebraucht" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gebrauchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gebraucht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gebrauchen" and "gebraucht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebrauchen vs Gebrauchs". 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 #1,989,403 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.