GeruchvsGerüstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,369
“Geruch” frequency rank
#21,273
“Gerüst” frequency rank
26642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geruch Gerüst
Definition durch das Geruchsorgan wahrgenommene Ausdünstung; subjektive Sinneswahrnehmung Vorrichtung, Konstruktion aus Balken/Stangen, die als Arbeitsplattform oder als Haltevorrichtung dient

Where the eye mixes Geruch and Gerüst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Geruch
6 ch
Gerüst

Why the eye confuses Geruch with Gerüst

A purely visual mix-up. Geruch ([ɡəˈʁʊx]) and Gerüst ([ɡəˈʁʏst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26642, 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]. Gerüst is at rank #21,273, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʁʏst].

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 26642, this pair ranks #1,814,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Geruch vs Gerüst

Shared letters: egr. Private to "Geruch": chu. Private to "Gerüst": stü.

"Geruch" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gerüst" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geruchegruch · gercuh · gerruch · gerucch · geruchh · geruhc · geurch · ggeruch

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Geruch" and "Gerüst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʁʊx] versus [ɡəˈʁʏst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Geruch" or "Gerüst"?
"Geruch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,369 in our German list, against #21,273 for "Gerüst". 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 "Geruch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gerüst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,814,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geruch" and "Gerüst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gepusht vs Gerüst". 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 #1,814,816 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