gehevsGehwegWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gehe is a verb, Gehweg is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gehe” is a verb and “Gehweg” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#969
“gehe” frequency rank
#17,004
“Gehweg” frequency rank
17973
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gehe Gehweg
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gehen neben einer Fahrbahn befindliche Verkehrsfläche für Fußgänger

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gehe and Gehweg apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
gehe
6 ch
Gehweg

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gehe is [ˈɡeːə] while Gehweg is [ˈɡeːˌveːk]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gehe is recorded at frequency rank #969, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡeːə]. Gehweg is at rank #17,004, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡeːˌveːk].

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 17973, this pair ranks #1,922,558 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gehe vs Gehweg

Shared letters: egh. Private to "gehe": -. Private to "Gehweg": w.

"gehe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Gehweg" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geheeghe · geeh · gehhe · ggehe · ghee
  • Gehwegeghweg · gehewg · gehhweg · gehwegg · gehwge · gehwweg · gewheg · ggehweg

Frequency comparison

gehe#969
Gehweg#17,004

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gehe" and "Gehweg" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gehe" is a verb and "Gehweg" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gehe" or "Gehweg"?
"gehe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #969 in our German list, against #17,004 for "Gehweg". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gehe vs Gehweg

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gehe”; for a noun, it's “Gehweg”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gehe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list