gebrochenevsgerochenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#26,022
“gebrochene” frequency rank
#30,577
“gerochen” frequency rank
56599
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebrochene gerochen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gebrochen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs riechen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gebrochene and gerochen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
gebrochene
8 ch
gerochen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebrochene is [ɡəˈbʁɔxənə] while gerochen is [ɡəˈʁɔxn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 56599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebrochene is recorded at frequency rank #26,022, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbʁɔxənə]. gerochen is at rank #30,577, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɔxn̩].

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 56599, this pair ranks #934,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gebrochene vs gerochen

Shared letters: ceghnor. Private to "gebrochene": b. Private to "gerochen": -.

"gebrochene" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV  ·  "gerochen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebrocheneegbrochene · gberochene · gebbrochene · geborchene · gebrcohene · gebrocchene · gebrocehne · gebrocheen
  • gerochenegrochen · georchen · gercohen · gerocchen · gerocehn · gerochenn · gerochhen · gerochne

Frequency comparison

gebrochene#26,022
gerochen#30,577

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebrochene" and "gerochen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gebrochene" is an adjective and "gerochen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gebrochene" or "gerochen"?
"gebrochene" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,022 in our German list, against #30,577 for "gerochen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gebrochene vs gerochen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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