GeruchvsgerücktConfusable pair

Quick tell: Geruch is a noun, gerückt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Geruch” is a noun and “gerückt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,369
“Geruch” frequency rank
#12,500
“gerückt” frequency rank
17869
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geruch gerückt
Definition durch das Geruchsorgan wahrgenommene Ausdünstung; subjektive Sinneswahrnehmung Partizip Perfekt des Verbs rücken

Where the eye mixes Geruch and gerückt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Geruch runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against gerückt's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Geruch
7 ch
gerückt

Visual trap between Geruch and gerückt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Geruch is [ɡəˈʁʊx] while gerückt is [ɡəˈʁʏkt]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17869, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geruch is recorded at frequency rank #5,369, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʁʊx]. gerückt is at rank #12,500, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁʏkt].

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 17869, this pair ranks #1,923,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Geruch vs gerückt

Shared letters: cegr. Private to "Geruch": hu. Private to "gerückt": ktü.

"Geruch" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "gerückt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geruch ← egruch · gercuh · gerruch · gerucch · geruchh · geruhc · geurch · ggeruch

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Geruch" and "gerückt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Geruch" is a noun and "gerückt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Geruch" vs "gerückt" - which ranks higher?
"Geruch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,369 in our German list, against #12,500 for "gerückt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Geruch" and "gerückt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Geruch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gerückt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,923,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geruch" and "gerückt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerückt vs gespuckt". 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 #1,923,521 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