gehtvsgiltTell them apart

Which to use

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

#99
“geht” frequency rank
#444
“gilt” frequency rank
543
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geht gilt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gehen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gelten

Where the eye mixes geht and gilt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
geht
4 ch
gilt

Visual trap between geht and gilt

A purely visual mix-up. geht ([ɡeːt]) and gilt ([ɡɪlt]) 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 543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geht is recorded at frequency rank #99, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡeːt]. gilt is at rank #444, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡɪlt].

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 543, this pair ranks #2,005,710 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geht vs gilt

Shared letters: gt. Private to "geht": eh. Private to "gilt": il.

"geht" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "gilt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gehteght · gehht · gehtt · geth · ggeht · ghet
  • giltggilt · gillt · giltt · gitl · glit · iglt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geht" and "gilt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡeːt] versus [ɡɪlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geht" or "gilt"?
"geht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #99 in our German list, against #444 for "gilt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gilt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,005,710 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geht" and "gilt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gilt vs GIMP". 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 #2,005,710 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