gehenvsGenenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#209
“gehen” frequency rank
#26,026
“Genen” frequency rank
26235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gehen Genen
Definition sich schreitend, schrittweise fortbewegen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gen

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
gehen
5 ch
Genen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gehen is [ˈɡeːən] while Genen is [ˈɡeːnən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - h in “gehen” becomes n in “Genen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gehen is recorded at frequency rank #209, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡeːən]. Genen is at rank #26,026, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡeːnən].

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 26235, this pair ranks #1,821,180 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gehen vs Genen

Shared letters: egn. Private to "gehen": h. Private to "Genen": -.

"gehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Genen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geheneghen · geehn · gehenn · gehhen · gehne · ggehen · gheen
  • Genengeenn · genenn · genne · gennen · ggenen · gneen

Frequency comparison

gehen#209
Genen#26,026

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gehen" and "Genen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gehen" is a verb and "Genen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gehen" or "Genen"?
"gehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #209 in our German list, against #26,026 for "Genen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gehen vs Genen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gehen”; for a noun, it's “Genen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gehen” 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