GebührvsGewährWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,718
“Gebühr” frequency rank
#21,627
“Gewähr” frequency rank
30345
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gebühr Gewähr
Definition eine Geldsumme, die für eine Dienstleistung oder die Benutzung einer Sache zu entrichten ist; das Zugebühren Sicherheit, Bürgschaft, Garantie

Where the eye mixes Gebühr and Gewähr

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Gebühr and Gewähr follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Gebühr
6 ch
Gewähr

Look-alike desk: Gebühr vs Gewähr

A purely visual mix-up. Gebühr ([ɡəˈbyːɐ̯]) and Gewähr ([ɡəˈvɛːɐ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30345, 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]. Gewähr is at rank #21,627, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈvɛːɐ̯].

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 30345, this pair ranks #1,749,707 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gebühr vs Gewähr

Shared letters: eghr. Private to "Gebühr": bü. Private to "Gewähr": wä.

"Gebühr" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gewähr" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gebühr" and "Gewähr" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbyːɐ̯] versus [ɡəˈvɛːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gebühr" or "Gewähr"?
"Gebühr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,718 in our German list, against #21,627 for "Gewähr". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gebühr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gewähr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,749,707 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gebühr" and "Gewähr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gemäht vs Gewähr". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,749,707 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