gensvsgenugWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gens is a noun, genug is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gens” is a noun and “genug” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,355
“gens” frequency rank
#390
“genug” frequency rank
36745
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gens genug
Definition Menschen im Allgemeinen oder ein Gruppe von Menschen (meist unbestimmter Zahl); Leute ausreichend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gens and genug apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
gens
5 ch
genug

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gens is [ʒã] while genug is [ɡəˈnuːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gens is recorded at frequency rank #36,355, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʒã]. genug is at rank #390, tagged as apron, pronounced [ɡəˈnuːk].

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 36745, this pair ranks #1,607,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gens vs genug

Shared letters: egn. Private to "gens": s. Private to "genug": u.

"gens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "genug" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gensegns · genns · genss · gesn · ggens · gnes
  • genugegnug · gengu · gennug · genugg · geung · ggenug · gneug

Frequency comparison

gens#36,355
genug#390

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gens" and "genug" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gens" is a noun and "genug" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gens" or "genug"?
"genug" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #390 in our German list, against #36,355 for "gens". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gens vs genug

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “gens”; for a pronoun, it's “genug”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gens” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list