GeizvsgemTell them apart

Which to use

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

#32,550
“Geiz” frequency rank
#10,663
“gem” frequency rank
43213
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geiz gem
Definition heftiger Unwille etwas abzugeben (zum Beispiel Geld) Edelstein

Where the eye mixes Geiz and gem

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

4 ch
Geiz
3 ch
gem

Visual trap between Geiz and gem

A purely visual mix-up. Geiz ([ɡaɪ̯t͡s]) and gem ([dʒɛm]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geiz is recorded at frequency rank #32,550, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡaɪ̯t͡s]. gem is at rank #10,663, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dʒɛm].

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 43213, this pair ranks #1,425,177 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Geiz vs gem

Shared letters: eg. Private to "Geiz": iz. Private to "gem": m.

"Geiz" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "gem" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geizegiz · geizz · gezi · ggeiz · giez

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geiz" for "gem" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡaɪ̯t͡s] versus [dʒɛm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Geiz" or "gem"?
"gem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,663 in our German list, against #32,550 for "Geiz". 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 "Geiz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,425,177 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geiz" and "gem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geis vs Geiz". 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 #1,425,177 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