gemaltvsgewähltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,767
“gemalt” frequency rank
#1,036
“gewählt” frequency rank
8803
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gemalt gewählt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs malen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs wählen

Where the eye mixes gemalt and gewählt

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

6 ch
gemalt
7 ch
gewählt

Look-alike desk: gemalt vs gewählt

A purely visual mix-up. gemalt ([ɡəˈmaːlt]) and gewählt ([ɡəˈvɛːlt]) 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 8803, 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]. gewählt is at rank #1,036, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvɛːlt].

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 8803, this pair ranks #1,982,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gemalt vs gewählt

Shared letters: eglt. Private to "gemalt": am. Private to "gewählt": hwä.

"gemalt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "gewählt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gemalt" and "gewählt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈmaːlt] versus [ɡəˈvɛːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gemalt" vs "gewählt" - which ranks higher?
"gewählt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,036 in our German list, against #7,767 for "gemalt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gemalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gewählt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,982,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gemalt" and "gewählt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gemalt 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 #1,982,756 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