GerätvsGerätesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,109
“Gerät” frequency rank
#34,124
“Gerätes” frequency rank
36233
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gerät Gerätes
Definition ein Werkzeug oder Hilfsmittel; ein (ursprünglich einfach aufgebauter) beweglicher Gegenstand, mit dem etwas bewirkt werden kann Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gerät

Where the eye mixes Gerät and Gerätes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Gerät
7 ch
Gerätes

Why the eye confuses Gerät with Gerätes

A purely visual mix-up. Gerät ([ɡəˈʁɛːt]) and Gerätes ([ɡəˈʁɛːtəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Gerät” sits inside “Gerätes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gerät is recorded at frequency rank #2,109, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɛːt]. Gerätes is at rank #34,124, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɛːtəs].

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 36233, this pair ranks #1,620,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gerät vs Gerätes

Shared letters: egrtä. Private to "Gerät": -. Private to "Gerätes": s.

"Gerät" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Gerätes" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gerät" and "Gerätes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʁɛːt] versus [ɡəˈʁɛːtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gerät" or "Gerätes"?
"Gerät" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,109 in our German list, against #34,124 for "Gerätes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Gerät" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gerätes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,620,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gerät" and "Gerätes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gerätes vs Graves". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,620,761 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