gebrochenvsgesprochenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,510
“gebrochen” frequency rank
#1,553
“gesprochen” frequency rank
6063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebrochen gesprochen
Definition eine Bruchzahl darstellend Partizip Perfekt des Verbs sprechen

Where the eye mixes gebrochen and gesprochen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
gebrochen
10 ch
gesprochen

Look-alike desk: gebrochen vs gesprochen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebrochen is [ɡəˈbʁɔxn̩] while gesprochen is [ɡəˈʃpʁɔxn̩]. 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 6063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebrochen is recorded at frequency rank #4,510, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁɔxn̩]. gesprochen is at rank #1,553, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpʁɔxn̩].

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 6063, this pair ranks #1,992,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebrochen vs gesprochen

Shared letters: ceghnor. Private to "gebrochen": b. Private to "gesprochen": ps.

"gebrochen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "gesprochen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebrochenegbrochen · gberochen · gebbrochen · geborchen · gebrcohen · gebrocchen · gebrocehn · gebrochenn
  • gesprochenegsprochen · gepsrochen · gesporchen · gespprochen · gesprcohen · gesprocchen · gesprocehn · gesprochenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gebrochen" and "gesprochen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gebrochen" is an adjective and "gesprochen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "gebrochen" vs "gesprochen" - which ranks higher?
"gesprochen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,553 in our German list, against #4,510 for "gebrochen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gebrochen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gesprochen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,992,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebrochen" and "gesprochen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebrochen vs gebrochener". 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 #1,992,844 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