genug vs genügte, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set genug and genügte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

genug

7 ch

genügte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

genug#390

genügte#30,573

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "genug" and "genügte" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "genug" is a pronoun and "genügte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "genug" or "genügte"?

"genug" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #390 in our German list, against #30,573 for "genügte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering genug vs genügte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “genug”; for a verb, it's “genügte”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “genug” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable