Which to use
“genug” is a pronoun and “genügte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #390
- “genug” frequency rank
- #30,573
- “genügte” frequency rank
- 30963
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | genug | genügte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ausreichend | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs genügen |
Where the eye mixes genug and genügte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. genug runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against genügte's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses genug with genügte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: genug is [ɡəˈnuːk] while genügte is [ɡəˈnyːktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
genug is recorded at frequency rank #390, classified as apron, pronounced [ɡəˈnuːk]. genügte is at rank #30,573, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈnyːktə].
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 30963, this pair ranks #1,737,491 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of genug vs genügte
Shared letters: egn. Private to "genug": u. Private to "genügte": tü.
"genug" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "genügte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- genug ← egnug · gengu · gennug · genugg · geung · ggenug · gneug
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "genug" for "genügte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "genug" or "genügte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "genug" and "genügte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "genug" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "genügte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,737,491 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "genug" and "genügte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "genügte vs Genüsse". 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 #1,737,491 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.