Which to use
“gehen” is a verb and “gemein” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #209
- “gehen” frequency rank
- #5,262
- “gemein” frequency rank
- 5471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gehen | gemein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich schreitend, schrittweise fortbewegen | eine Eigenschaft habend, die mehreren gemeinsam ist |
Where the eye mixes gehen and gemein
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gehen is [ˈɡeːən] while gemein is [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gehen is recorded at frequency rank #209, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡeːən]. gemein is at rank #5,262, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n].
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 5471, this pair ranks #1,994,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gehen vs gemein
Shared letters: egn. Private to "gehen": h. Private to "gemein": im.
"gehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "gemein" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC