GebührvsGebührenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,718
“Gebühr” frequency rank
#4,433
“Gebühren” frequency rank
13151
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gebühr Gebühren
Definition eine Geldsumme, die für eine Dienstleistung oder die Benutzung einer Sache zu entrichten ist; das Zugebühren Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Gebühr

Where the eye mixes Gebühr and Gebühren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Gebühr
8 ch
Gebühren

Why the eye confuses Gebühr with Gebühren

A purely visual mix-up. Gebühr ([ɡəˈbyːɐ̯]) and Gebühren ([ɡəˈbyːʁən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Gebühr” sits inside “Gebühren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gebühr is recorded at frequency rank #8,718, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbyːɐ̯]. Gebühren is at rank #4,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbyːʁən].

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 13151, this pair ranks #1,959,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gebühr vs Gebühren

Shared letters: beghrü. Private to "Gebühr": -. Private to "Gebühren": n.

"Gebühr" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gebühren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gebühr" and "Gebühren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbyːɐ̯] versus [ɡəˈbyːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gebühr" vs "Gebühren" - which ranks higher?
"Gebühren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,433 in our German list, against #8,718 for "Gebühr". 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 "Gebühr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gebühren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,959,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gebühr" and "Gebühren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebar vs Gebühr". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,959,798 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