GeistvsGeistesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,847
“Geist” frequency rank
#9,029
“Geistes” frequency rank
10876
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geist Geistes
Definition Plural 1: Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Geist

Where the eye mixes Geist and Geistes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Geist
7 ch
Geistes

Visual trap between Geist and Geistes

A purely visual mix-up. Geist ([ɡaɪ̯st]) and Geistes ([ˈɡaɪ̯stəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Geist” sits inside “Geistes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geist is recorded at frequency rank #1,847, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡaɪ̯st]. Geistes is at rank #9,029, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaɪ̯stəs].

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 10876, this pair ranks #1,972,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Geist vs Geistes

Shared letters: egist. Private to "Geist": -. Private to "Geistes": -.

"Geist" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "Geistes" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geistegist · geisst · geistt · geits · gesit · ggeist · giest
  • Geistesegistes · geisets · geisstes · geistess · geistse · geisttes · geitses · gesites

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geist" for "Geistes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡaɪ̯st] versus [ˈɡaɪ̯stəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Geist" vs "Geistes" - which ranks higher?
"Geist" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,847 in our German list, against #9,029 for "Geistes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Geist" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Geistes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,972,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geist" and "Geistes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gastes vs Geistes". 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 #1,972,860 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