gemaltvsgenähtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,767
“gemalt” frequency rank
#17,590
“genäht” frequency rank
25357
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gemalt genäht
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs malen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs nähen

Where the eye mixes gemalt and genäht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. gemalt and genäht follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
gemalt
6 ch
genäht

Visual trap between gemalt and genäht

A purely visual mix-up. gemalt ([ɡəˈmaːlt]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25357, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gemalt is recorded at frequency rank #7,767, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈmaːlt]. 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 25357, this pair ranks #1,834,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gemalt vs genäht

Shared letters: egt. Private to "gemalt": alm. Private to "genäht": hnä.

"gemalt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "genäht" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemalt ← egmalt · geamlt · gemallt · gemaltt · gematl · gemlat · gemmalt · ggemalt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gemalt" for "genäht" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈmaːlt] versus [ɡəˈnɛːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gemalt" or "genäht"?
"gemalt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,767 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.

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 "gemalt" 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 #1,834,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gemalt" 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 #1,834,540 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