Which to use
“gehorsam” is an adjective and “gehörst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,638
- “gehorsam” frequency rank
- #14,300
- “gehörst” frequency rank
- 29938
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gehorsam | gehörst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Anweisungen oder Befehle eines Vorgesetzten oder der Eltern/eines Vormundes befolgend | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gehören |
Where the eye mixes gehorsam and gehörst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gehorsam runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gehörst's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gehorsam with gehörst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gehorsam is [ɡəˈhoːɐ̯ˌzaːm] while gehörst is [ɡəˈhøːɐ̯st]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gehorsam is recorded at frequency rank #15,638, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈhoːɐ̯ˌzaːm]. gehörst is at rank #14,300, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈhøːɐ̯st].
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 29938, this pair ranks #1,757,447 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gehorsam vs gehörst
Shared letters: eghrs. Private to "gehorsam": amo. Private to "gehörst": tö.
"gehorsam" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gehörst" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gehorsam ← eghorsam · gehhorsam · gehorasm · gehorrsam · gehorsamm · gehorsma · gehorssam · gehosram
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gehorsam" and "gehörst" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gehorsam" or "gehörst" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gehorsam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gehörst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,757,447 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gehorsam" and "gehörst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gehorcht vs gehörst". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,757,447 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.