gehtvsgeisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: geht is a verb, geis is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

“geht” is a verb and “geis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#99
“geht” frequency rank
#45,964
“geis” frequency rank
46063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geht geis
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gehen Inessiv Singular des Substantivs gei „Homosexueller“

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set geht and geis apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
geht
4 ch
geis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: geht is averb and geisanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geht is recorded at frequency rank #99, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡeːt]. geis is at rank #45,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 46063, this pair ranks #1,331,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of geht vs geis

Shared letters: eg. Private to "geht": ht. Private to "geis": is.

"geht" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "geis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geht ← eght · gehht · gehtt · geth · ggeht · ghet
  • geis ← egis · geiss · gesi · ggeis · gies

Frequency comparison

geht#99
geis#45,964

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geht" and "geis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "geht" is a verb and "geis" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "geht" or "geis"?
"geht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #99 in our German list, against #45,964 for "geis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering geht vs geis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “geht”; for a noun, it's “geis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “geht” 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