gebrauchtvsgetauchtWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gebraucht is a adjective, getaucht is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gebraucht” is an adjective and “getaucht” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,107
“gebraucht” frequency rank
#30,090
“getaucht” frequency rank
32197
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebraucht getaucht
Definition bereits verwendet, nicht neu Partizip Perfekt des Verbs tauchen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gebraucht and getaucht apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
gebraucht
8 ch
getaucht

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebraucht is [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xt] while getaucht is [ɡəˈtaʊ̯xt]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebraucht is recorded at frequency rank #2,107, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xt]. getaucht is at rank #30,090, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈtaʊ̯xt].

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 32197, this pair ranks #1,712,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebraucht vs getaucht

Shared letters: aceghtu. Private to "gebraucht": br. Private to "getaucht": -.

"gebraucht" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCC  ·  "getaucht" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebrauchtegbraucht · gberaucht · gebarucht · gebbraucht · gebracuht · gebrauccht · gebrauchht · gebrauchtt
  • getauchtegtaucht · geatucht · getacuht · getauccht · getauchht · getauchtt · getaucth · getauhct

Frequency comparison

gebraucht#2,107
getaucht#30,090

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebraucht" and "getaucht" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gebraucht" is an adjective and "getaucht" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gebraucht" or "getaucht"?
"gebraucht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,107 in our German list, against #30,090 for "getaucht". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gebraucht vs getaucht

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “gebraucht”; for a verb, it's “getaucht”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gebraucht” 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