gernvsgetsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gern is a adverb, gets is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gern” is an adverb and “gets” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#616
“gern” frequency rank
#38,773
“gets” frequency rank
39389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gern gets
Definition mit Freude 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs get

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gern and gets apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
gern
4 ch
gets

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: gern is anadverb and getsaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gern is recorded at frequency rank #616, classified as anadv, pronounced [ɡɛʁn]. gets is at rank #38,773, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 39389, this pair ranks #1,538,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gern vs gets

Shared letters: eg. Private to "gern": nr. Private to "gets": st.

"gern" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "gets" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gernegrn · genr · gernn · gerrn · ggern · gren
  • getsegts · gest · getss · getts · ggets · gtes

Frequency comparison

gern#616
gets#38,773

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gern" and "gets" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gern" is an adverb and "gets" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gern" or "gets"?
"gern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #616 in our German list, against #38,773 for "gets". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gern vs gets

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list