gemessenvsgerissenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,350
“gemessen” frequency rank
#6,661
“gerissen” frequency rank
11011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gemessen gerissen
Definition mit Hilfe eines Messgeräts genau erfasst auf unsympathische Weise schlau, geschäftstüchtig

Where the eye mixes gemessen and gerissen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
gemessen
8 ch
gerissen

Why the eye confuses gemessen with gerissen

A purely visual mix-up. gemessen ([ɡəˈmɛsn̩]) and gerissen ([ɡəˈʁɪsn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gemessen is recorded at frequency rank #4,350, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmɛsn̩]. gerissen is at rank #6,661, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɪsn̩].

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 11011, this pair ranks #1,972,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gemessen vs gerissen

Shared letters: egns. Private to "gemessen": m. Private to "gerissen": ir.

"gemessen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gerissen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemessenegmessen · geemssen · gemesen · gemesesn · gemessenn · gemessne · gemeßen · gemmessen
  • gerissenegrissen · geirssen · gerisen · gerisesn · gerissenn · gerissne · gerißen · gerrissen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gemessen" and "gerissen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈmɛsn̩] versus [ɡəˈʁɪsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gemessen" vs "gerissen" - which ranks higher?
"gemessen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,350 in our German list, against #6,661 for "gerissen". 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 "gemessen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gerissen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,972,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gemessen" and "gerissen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerieben vs gerissen". 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 #1,972,171 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