gelachtvsgenähtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,323
“gelacht” frequency rank
#17,590
“genäht” frequency rank
24913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelacht genäht
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs lachen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs nähen

Where the eye mixes gelacht and genäht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gelacht runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against genäht's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
gelacht
6 ch
genäht

Why the eye confuses gelacht with genäht

A purely visual mix-up. gelacht ([ɡəˈlaxt]) and genäht ([ɡəˈnɛːt]) 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 24913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelacht is recorded at frequency rank #7,323, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlaxt]. genäht is at rank #17,590, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈnɛːt].

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 24913, this pair ranks #1,840,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gelacht vs genäht

Shared letters: eght. Private to "gelacht": acl. Private to "genäht": nä.

"gelacht" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "genäht" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gelacht ← eglacht · gealcht · gelaccht · gelachht · gelachtt · gelacth · gelahct · gelcaht

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelacht" and "genäht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈlaxt] versus [ɡəˈnɛːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gelacht" vs "genäht" - which ranks higher?
"gelacht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,323 in our German list, against #17,590 for "genäht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gelacht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "genäht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,840,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gelacht" and "genäht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "genähert vs genäht". 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 #1,840,799 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