gemeinvsgemeinesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,262
“gemein” frequency rank
#47,434
“gemeines” frequency rank
52696
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gemein gemeines
Definition eine Eigenschaft habend, die mehreren gemeinsam ist Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gemein

Where the eye mixes gemein and gemeines

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gemein runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against gemeines's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gemein
8 ch
gemeines

Look-alike desk: gemein vs gemeines

A purely visual mix-up. gemein ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]) and gemeines ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯nəs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “gemein” sits inside “gemeines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gemein is recorded at frequency rank #5,262, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]. gemeines is at rank #47,434, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯nəs].

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 52696, this pair ranks #1,086,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gemein vs gemeines

Shared letters: egimn. Private to "gemein": -. Private to "gemeines": s.

"gemein" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "gemeines" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemein ← egmein · geemin · gemeinn · gemeni · gemien · gemmein · ggemein · gmeein
  • gemeines ← egmeines · geemines · gemeiens · gemeiness · gemeinnes · gemeinse · gemenies · gemienes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gemein" for "gemeines" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯n] versus [ɡəˈmaɪ̯nəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gemein" or "gemeines"?
"gemein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,262 in our German list, against #47,434 for "gemeines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "gemein" and "gemeines" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gemein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gemeines" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,086,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gemein" and "gemeines" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gemeines vs gemeinten". 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 #1,086,844 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