gehstvsghostWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,585
“gehst” frequency rank
#15,376
“ghost” frequency rank
18961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gehst ghost
Definition 2. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs gehen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ghosten

Where the eye mixes gehst and ghost

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
gehst
5 ch
ghost

Why the eye confuses gehst with ghost

A purely visual mix-up. gehst ([ɡeːst]) and ghost ([ɡɔʊ̯st]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gehst is recorded at frequency rank #3,585, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡeːst]. ghost is at rank #15,376, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡɔʊ̯st].

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 18961, this pair ranks #1,913,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gehst vs ghost

Shared letters: ghst. Private to "gehst": e. Private to "ghost": o.

"gehst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "ghost" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gehsteghst · gehhst · gehsst · gehstt · gesht · ggehst · ghest
  • ghostgghost · ghhost · ghosst · ghostt · ghots · ghsot · gohst · hgost

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gehst" and "ghost" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡeːst] versus [ɡɔʊ̯st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gehst" or "ghost"?
"gehst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,585 in our German list, against #15,376 for "ghost". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "gehst" and "ghost" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gehst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ghost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,913,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gehst" and "ghost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ghost vs guest". 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 #1,913,146 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list