Which to use
“gehorchen” is a verb and “gehörten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,586
- “gehorchen” frequency rank
- #4,989
- “gehörten” frequency rank
- 24575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gehorchen | gehörten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einer Anweisung Folge leisten; einen Befehl ausführen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gehört |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gehorchen and gehörten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gehorchen is [ɡəˈhɔʁçn̩] while gehörten is [ɡəˈhøːɐ̯tn̩]. 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 24575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gehorchen is recorded at frequency rank #19,586, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈhɔʁçn̩]. gehörten is at rank #4,989, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhøːɐ̯tn̩].
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 24575, this pair ranks #1,845,672 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gehorchen vs gehörten
Shared letters: eghnr. Private to "gehorchen": co. Private to "gehörten": tö.
"gehorchen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "gehörten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gehorchen ← eghorchen · gehhorchen · gehocrhen · gehorcchen · gehorcehn · gehorchenn · gehorchhen · gehorchne
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gehorchen" and "gehörten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "gehorchen" or "gehörten"?
Remembering gehorchen vs gehörten
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gehorchen”; for an adjective, it's “gehörten”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gehorchen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable