gehörigevsgehörteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,892
“gehörige” frequency rank
#2,826
“gehörte” frequency rank
29718
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gehörige gehörte
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gehörig Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gehört

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gehörige and gehörte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gehörige
7 ch
gehörte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gehörige ([ɡəˈhøːʁɪɡə]) and gehörte ([ɡəˈhøːɐ̯tə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29718, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gehörige is recorded at frequency rank #26,892, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhøːʁɪɡə]. gehörte is at rank #2,826, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhøːɐ̯tə].

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 29718, this pair ranks #1,761,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gehörige vs gehörte

Shared letters: eghrö. Private to "gehörige": i. Private to "gehörte": t.

"gehörige" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "gehörte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

gehörige#26,892
gehörte#2,826

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gehörige" and "gehörte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈhøːʁɪɡə] versus [ɡəˈhøːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gehörige" or "gehörte"?
"gehörte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,826 in our German list, against #26,892 for "gehörige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gehörige vs gehörte

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 “gehörige” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list