gemiedenvsgeriebenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#29,597
“gemieden” frequency rank
#41,194
“gerieben” frequency rank
70791
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gemieden gerieben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs meiden Partizip Perfekt des Verbs reiben

Where the eye mixes gemieden and gerieben

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

8 ch
gemieden
8 ch
gerieben

Visual trap between gemieden and gerieben

A purely visual mix-up. gemieden ([ɡəˈmiːdn̩]) and gerieben ([ɡəˈʁiːbn̩]) 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 70791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gemieden is recorded at frequency rank #29,597, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈmiːdn̩]. gerieben is at rank #41,194, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁiːbn̩].

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 70791, this pair ranks #435,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gemieden vs gerieben

Shared letters: egin. Private to "gemieden": dm. Private to "gerieben": br.

"gemieden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "gerieben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemiedenegmieden · geimeden · gemeiden · gemideen · gemiedden · gemiedenn · gemiedne · gemieedn
  • geriebenegrieben · geireben · gereiben · geribeen · geriebben · geriebenn · geriebne · gerieebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gemieden" and "gerieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈmiːdn̩] versus [ɡəˈʁiːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "gemieden" or "gerieben" show up more?
"gemieden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,597 in our German list, against #41,194 for "gerieben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gemieden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gerieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #435,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gemieden" and "gerieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerieben vs Gorleben". 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 #435,667 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