Which to use
“Geruch” and “Gesuch” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,369
- “Geruch” frequency rank
- #26,430
- “Gesuch” frequency rank
- 31799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Geruch | Gesuch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch das Geruchsorgan wahrgenommene Ausdünstung; subjektive Sinneswahrnehmung | Schreiben, das jemand an eine Behörde richtet, um eine Genehmigung oder Bewilligung zu erhalten |
Where the eye mixes Geruch and Gesuch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Geruch and Gesuch follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Geruch vs Gesuch
A purely visual mix-up. Geruch ([ɡəˈʁʊx]) and Gesuch ([ɡəˈzuːx]) 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 a single letter - r in “Geruch” becomes s in “Gesuch”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31799, 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]. Gesuch is at rank #26,430, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈzuːx].
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 31799, this pair ranks #1,720,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Geruch vs Gesuch
Shared letters: ceghu. Private to "Geruch": r. Private to "Gesuch": s.
"Geruch" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "Gesuch" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Geruch" and "Gesuch" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Geruch" or "Gesuch"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Geruch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gesuch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,720,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Geruch" and "Gesuch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemach vs Gesuch". 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 #1,720,783 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.