Which to use
“gegenüber” is a preposition and “Gegenübers” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #457
- “gegenüber” frequency rank
- #45,962
- “Gegenübers” frequency rank
- 46419
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gegenüber | Gegenübers |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf der anderen (entgegengesetzten) Seite | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gegenüber |
Where the eye mixes gegenüber and Gegenübers
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. gegenüber runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against Gegenübers's 10 (CVCVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gegenüber vs Gegenübers
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gegenüber is [ɡeːɡn̩ˈʔyːbɐ] while Gegenübers is [ɡeːɡn̩ˈʔyːbɐs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “gegenüber” sits inside “Gegenübers”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gegenüber is recorded at frequency rank #457, classified as aprep, pronounced [ɡeːɡn̩ˈʔyːbɐ]. Gegenübers is at rank #45,962, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡeːɡn̩ˈʔyːbɐs].
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 46419, this pair ranks #1,319,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gegenüber vs Gegenübers
Shared letters: begnrü. Private to "gegenüber": -. Private to "Gegenübers": s.
"gegenüber" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "Gegenübers" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gegenüber" for "Gegenübers" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gegenüber" or "Gegenübers" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "gegenüber" and "Gegenübers" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gegenüber" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gegenübers" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,319,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
Confusion rank #1,319,761 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.