geheimevsgeheimenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,539
“geheime” frequency rank
#5,955
“geheimen” frequency rank
12494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geheime geheimen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs geheim Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs geheim

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set geheime and geheimen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
geheime
8 ch
geheimen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. geheime ([ɡəˈhaɪ̯mə]) and geheimen ([ɡəˈhaɪ̯mən]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “geheime” sits inside “geheimen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geheime is recorded at frequency rank #6,539, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhaɪ̯mə]. geheimen is at rank #5,955, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhaɪ̯mən].

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 12494, this pair ranks #1,963,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geheime vs geheimen

Shared letters: eghim. Private to "geheime": -. Private to "geheimen": n.

"geheime" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "geheimen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geheimeegheime · geehime · geheiem · geheimme · gehemie · gehheime · gehieme · ggeheime
  • geheimenegheimen · geehimen · geheiemn · geheimenn · geheimmen · geheimne · gehemien · gehheimen

Frequency comparison

geheime#6,539
geheimen#5,955

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geheime" and "geheimen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈhaɪ̯mə] versus [ɡəˈhaɪ̯mən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geheime" or "geheimen"?
"geheimen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,955 in our German list, against #6,539 for "geheime". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering geheime vs geheimen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “geheime” 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