gemeinsamvsgemeinsamesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#683
“gemeinsam” frequency rank
#6,925
“gemeinsames” frequency rank
7608
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gemeinsam gemeinsames
Definition mehreren Personen oder Sachen zugleich eigen (jedem gehört ein Anteil daran) Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gemeinsam

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gemeinsam and gemeinsames apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
gemeinsam
11 ch
gemeinsames

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gemeinsam ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯nzaːm]) and gemeinsames ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯nzaːməs]) 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) - “gemeinsam” sits inside “gemeinsames”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gemeinsam is recorded at frequency rank #683, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯nzaːm]. gemeinsames is at rank #6,925, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaɪ̯nzaːməs].

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 7608, this pair ranks #1,987,544 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gemeinsam vs gemeinsames

Shared letters: aegimns. Private to "gemeinsam": -. Private to "gemeinsames": -.

"gemeinsam" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC  ·  "gemeinsames" · 11 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemeinsamegmeinsam · geeminsam · gemeinasm · gemeinnsam · gemeinsamm · gemeinsma · gemeinssam · gemeisnam
  • gemeinsamesegmeinsames · geeminsames · gemeinasmes · gemeinnsames · gemeinsaems · gemeinsamess · gemeinsammes · gemeinsamse

Frequency comparison

gemeinsam#683
gemeinsames#6,925

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gemeinsam" and "gemeinsames" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈmaɪ̯nzaːm] versus [ɡəˈmaɪ̯nzaːməs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gemeinsam" or "gemeinsames"?
"gemeinsam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #683 in our German list, against #6,925 for "gemeinsames". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gemeinsam vs gemeinsames

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gemeinsam” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list