GeiervsGliedWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,891
“Geier” frequency rank
#16,168
“Glied” frequency rank
32059
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geier Glied
Definition ein Raubvogel aus der Unterfamilie der Altweltgeier (Aegypiinae) und/oder der Familie Neuweltgeier (Cathartidae) ein verbundenes Teil oder Stück - allgemein: Teil eines Ganzen

Where the eye mixes Geier and Glied

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Geier (CVVVC) and Glied (CCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Geier
5 ch
Glied

Look-alike desk: Geier vs Glied

A purely visual mix-up. Geier ([ˈɡaɪ̯ɐ]) and Glied ([ɡliːt]) 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 32059, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geier is recorded at frequency rank #15,891, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaɪ̯ɐ]. Glied is at rank #16,168, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡliːt].

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 32059, this pair ranks #1,715,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Geier vs Glied

Shared letters: egi. Private to "Geier": r. Private to "Glied": dl.

"Geier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "Glied" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geier ← egier · geeir · geierr · geire · ggeier · gieer
  • Glied ← gglied · giled · gleid · glide · gliedd · gllied · lgied

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geier" for "Glied" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡaɪ̯ɐ] versus [ɡliːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Geier" or "Glied" show up more?
"Geier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,891 in our German list, against #16,168 for "Glied". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Geier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Glied" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,715,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geier" and "Glied" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Glied vs gries". 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 #1,715,527 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