Which to use
“gerissen” is an adjective and “gewiesen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,661
- “gerissen” frequency rank
- #39,392
- “gewiesen” frequency rank
- 46053
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gerissen | gewiesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf unsympathische Weise schlau, geschäftstüchtig | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs weisen |
Where the eye mixes gerissen and gewiesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gerissen (CVCVCCVC) and gewiesen (CVCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses gerissen with gewiesen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gerissen is [ɡəˈʁɪsn̩] while gewiesen is [ɡəˈviːzn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gerissen is recorded at frequency rank #6,661, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɪsn̩]. gewiesen is at rank #39,392, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈviːzn̩].
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 46053, this pair ranks #1,332,152 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gerissen vs gewiesen
Shared letters: egins. Private to "gerissen": r. Private to "gewiesen": w.
"gerissen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gewiesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gerissen" and "gewiesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "gerissen" vs "gewiesen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gerissen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gewiesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,332,152 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gerissen" and "gewiesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerieben vs gewiesen". 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 #1,332,152 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.