Which to use
“gehören” is a verb and “gehörig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #791
- “gehören” frequency rank
- #14,810
- “gehörig” frequency rank
- 15601
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gehören | gehörig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas/jemand gehört jemandem: Eigentum von einer Person sein | zu jemandem oder etwas gehörend |
Where the eye mixes gehören and gehörig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gehören and gehörig follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between gehören and gehörig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gehören is [ɡəˈhøːʁən] while gehörig is [ɡəˈhøːʁɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15601, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gehören is recorded at frequency rank #791, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈhøːʁən]. gehörig is at rank #14,810, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhøːʁɪç].
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 15601, this pair ranks #1,942,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gehören vs gehörig
Shared letters: eghrö. Private to "gehören": n. Private to "gehörig": i.
"gehören" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "gehörig" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gehören" and "gehörig" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "gehören" or "gehörig"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gehören" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gehörig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,942,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gehören" and "gehörig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gehörig vs gehörige". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,942,569 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.