Which to use
“gebrauchen” is a verb and “gebrauchtes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,986
- “gebrauchen” frequency rank
- #35,199
- “gebrauchtes” frequency rank
- 40185
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gebrauchen | gebrauchtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas verwenden, benutzen | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gebraucht |
Where the eye mixes gebrauchen and gebrauchtes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between gebrauchen and gebrauchtes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebrauchen is [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xn̩] while gebrauchtes is [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtəs]. 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 40185, 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]. gebrauchtes is at rank #35,199, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtəs].
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 40185, this pair ranks #1,515,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gebrauchen vs gebrauchtes
Shared letters: abceghru. Private to "gebrauchen": n. Private to "gebrauchtes": st.
"gebrauchen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC · "gebrauchtes" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gebrauchen ← egbrauchen · gberauchen · gebaruchen · gebbrauchen · gebracuhen · gebraucchen · gebraucehn · gebrauchenn
- gebrauchtes ← egbrauchtes · gberauchtes · gebaruchtes · gebbrauchtes · gebracuhtes · gebraucchtes · gebrauchets · gebrauchhtes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gebrauchen" for "gebrauchtes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gebrauchen" vs "gebrauchtes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "gebrauchtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,515,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gebrauchen" and "gebrauchtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebrachte vs gebrauchtes". 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 #1,515,704 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.