GeizvsGreisWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#32,550
“Geiz” frequency rank
#39,401
“Greis” frequency rank
71951
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geiz Greis
Definition heftiger Unwille etwas abzugeben (zum Beispiel Geld) sehr alter Mensch, meist Mann

Where the eye mixes Geiz and Greis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Geiz runs 4 letters (CVVC) against Greis's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Geiz
5 ch
Greis

Visual trap between Geiz and Greis

A purely visual mix-up. Geiz ([ɡaɪ̯t͡s]) and Greis ([ɡʁaɪ̯s]) 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 71951, 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]. Greis is at rank #39,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʁaɪ̯s].

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 71951, this pair ranks #402,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Geiz vs Greis

Shared letters: egi. Private to "Geiz": z. Private to "Greis": rs.

"Geiz" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Greis" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geiz ← egiz · geizz · gezi · ggeiz · giez
  • Greis ← geris · ggreis · greiss · gresi · grreis · rgeis

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geiz" for "Greis" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡaɪ̯t͡s] versus [ɡʁaɪ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Geiz" vs "Greis" - which ranks higher?
"Geiz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,550 in our German list, against #39,401 for "Greis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "Greis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #402,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geiz" and "Greis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "greco vs Greis". 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 #402,087 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