gebrauchtenvsgebrauchterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,570
“gebrauchten” frequency rank
#41,834
“gebrauchter” frequency rank
56404
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebrauchten gebrauchter
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gebraucht Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gebraucht

Where the eye mixes gebrauchten and gebrauchter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

11 ch
gebrauchten
11 ch
gebrauchter

Why the eye confuses gebrauchten with gebrauchter

A purely visual mix-up. gebrauchten ([ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtn̩]) and gebrauchter ([ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “gebrauchten” becomes r in “gebrauchter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebrauchten is recorded at frequency rank #14,570, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtn̩]. gebrauchter is at rank #41,834, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtɐ].

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 56404, this pair ranks #941,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gebrauchten vs gebrauchter

Shared letters: abceghrtu. Private to "gebrauchten": n. Private to "gebrauchter": -.

"gebrauchten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCCCVC  ·  "gebrauchter" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebrauchtenegbrauchten · gberauchten · gebaruchten · gebbrauchten · gebracuhten · gebraucchten · gebrauchetn · gebrauchhten
  • gebrauchteregbrauchter · gberauchter · gebaruchter · gebbrauchter · gebracuhter · gebraucchter · gebrauchetr · gebrauchhter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebrauchten" and "gebrauchter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtn̩] versus [ɡəˈbʁaʊ̯xtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gebrauchten" or "gebrauchter"?
"gebrauchten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,570 in our German list, against #41,834 for "gebrauchter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gebrauchten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gebrauchter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #941,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebrauchten" and "gebrauchter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebrachte vs gebrauchter". 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 #941,496 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