geplagtvsgewagtTell them apart

Quick tell: geplagt is a adjective, gewagt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“geplagt” is an adjective and “gewagt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,745
“geplagt” frequency rank
#9,918
“gewagt” frequency rank
37663
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geplagt gewagt
Definition unter etwas schwer leidend Partizip Perfekt des Verbs wagen

Where the eye mixes geplagt and gewagt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. geplagt runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against gewagt's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
geplagt
6 ch
gewagt

Visual trap between geplagt and gewagt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: geplagt is [ɡəˈplaːkt] while gewagt is [ɡəˈvaːkt]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37663, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geplagt is recorded at frequency rank #27,745, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈplaːkt]. gewagt is at rank #9,918, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvaːkt].

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 37663, this pair ranks #1,584,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geplagt vs gewagt

Shared letters: aegt. Private to "geplagt": lp. Private to "gewagt": w.

"geplagt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "gewagt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geplagtegplagt · gelpagt · gepalgt · geplaggt · geplagtt · geplatg · geplgat · gepllagt
  • gewagtegwagt · geawgt · gewaggt · gewagtt · gewatg · gewgat · gewwagt · ggewagt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geplagt" and "gewagt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "geplagt" is an adjective and "gewagt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "geplagt" or "gewagt" show up more?
"gewagt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,918 in our German list, against #27,745 for "geplagt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "geplagt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gewagt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,584,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geplagt" and "gewagt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gemäht vs gewagt". 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 #1,584,287 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