GeistvsgelöstConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#1,847
“Geist” frequency rank
#3,377
“gelöst” frequency rank
5224
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geist gelöst
Definition Plural 1: Partizip Perfekt des Verbs lösen

Where the eye mixes Geist and gelöst

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

5 ch
Geist
6 ch
gelöst

Look-alike desk: Geist vs gelöst

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Geist is [ɡaɪ̯st] while gelöst is [ɡəˈløːst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5224, 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]. gelöst is at rank #3,377, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈløːst].

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 5224, this pair ranks #1,995,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Geist vs gelöst

Shared letters: egst. Private to "Geist": i. Private to "gelöst": .

"Geist" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "gelöst" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geistegist · geisst · geistt · geits · gesit · ggeist · giest

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geist" for "gelöst" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Geist" is a noun and "gelöst" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Geist" or "gelöst" show up more?
"Geist" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,847 in our German list, against #3,377 for "gelöst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Geist" and "gelöst" 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 "gelöst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,995,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geist" and "gelöst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geist vs gemixt". 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 #1,995,427 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