gegenseitigvsgegenseitigesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,121
“gegenseitig” frequency rank
#32,548
“gegenseitiges” frequency rank
35669
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gegenseitig gegenseitiges
Definition so, dass zwischen zwei Menschen oder Dingen ein für beide Seiten gleichermaßen geltendes Geschehen erfolgt Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gegenseitig

Where the eye mixes gegenseitig and gegenseitiges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. gegenseitig runs 11 letters (CVCVCCVVCVC) against gegenseitiges's 13 (CVCVCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
gegenseitig
13 ch
gegenseitiges

Look-alike desk: gegenseitig vs gegenseitiges

A purely visual mix-up. gegenseitig ([ˈɡeːɡn̩ˌzaɪ̯tɪç]) and gegenseitiges ([ˈɡeːɡn̩ˌzaɪ̯tɪɡəs]) 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) - “gegenseitig” sits inside “gegenseitiges”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gegenseitig is recorded at frequency rank #3,121, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡeːɡn̩ˌzaɪ̯tɪç]. gegenseitiges is at rank #32,548, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡeːɡn̩ˌzaɪ̯tɪɡəs].

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 35669, this pair ranks #1,634,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gegenseitig vs gegenseitiges

Shared letters: eginst. Private to "gegenseitig": -. Private to "gegenseitiges": -.

"gegenseitig" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCVC  ·  "gegenseitiges" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gegenseitig ← eggenseitig · geegnseitig · gegenesitig · gegennseitig · gegenseiitg · gegenseitgi · gegenseitigg · gegenseittig
  • gegenseitiges ← eggenseitiges · geegnseitiges · gegenesitiges · gegennseitiges · gegenseiitges · gegenseitgies · gegenseitiegs · gegenseitigess

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gegenseitig" for "gegenseitiges" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡeːɡn̩ˌzaɪ̯tɪç] versus [ˈɡeːɡn̩ˌzaɪ̯tɪɡəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gegenseitig" vs "gegenseitiges" - which ranks higher?
"gegenseitig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,121 in our German list, against #32,548 for "gegenseitiges". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gegenseitig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gegenseitiges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,634,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gegenseitig" and "gegenseitiges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gegenseitigem vs gegenseitiges". 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 #1,634,414 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