Which to use
“gegen” is a particle and “genügen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #95
- “gegen” frequency rank
- #10,479
- “genügen” frequency rank
- 10574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gegen | genügen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dagegen, entgegen | für einen bestimmten Zweck in ausreichendem Maß zur Verfügung stehen |
Where the eye mixes gegen and genügen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gegen is [ˈɡeːɡn̩] while genügen is [ɡəˈnyːɡn̩]. 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 (particle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gegen is recorded at frequency rank #95, classified as aparticle, pronounced [ˈɡeːɡn̩]. genügen is at rank #10,479, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈnyːɡn̩].
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 10574, this pair ranks #1,974,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gegen vs genügen
Shared letters: egn. Private to "gegen": -. Private to "genügen": ü.
"gegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "genügen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gegen ← eggen · geegn · gegenn · geggen · gegne · ggeen · ggegen