GeschäftvsGeschäfteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,731
“Geschäft” frequency rank
#2,959
“Geschäfte” frequency rank
4690
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geschäft Geschäfte
Definition gewinnorientierte Unternehmung; kaufmännische Transaktion; Austausch von Gütern und Dienstleistungen veraltend: Dativ Singular des Substantivs Geschäft

Where the eye mixes Geschäft and Geschäfte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Geschäft
9 ch
Geschäfte

Look-alike desk: Geschäft vs Geschäfte

A purely visual mix-up. Geschäft ([ɡəˈʃɛft]) and Geschäfte ([ɡəˈʃɛftə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Geschäft” sits inside “Geschäfte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geschäft is recorded at frequency rank #1,731, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʃɛft]. Geschäfte is at rank #2,959, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʃɛftə].

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 4690, this pair ranks #1,996,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Geschäft vs Geschäfte

Shared letters: cefghstä. Private to "Geschäft": -. Private to "Geschäfte": -.

"Geschäft" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "Geschäfte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Geschäft" and "Geschäfte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʃɛft] versus [ɡəˈʃɛftə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Geschäft" or "Geschäfte" show up more?
"Geschäft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,731 in our German list, against #2,959 for "Geschäfte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Geschäft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Geschäfte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,996,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geschäft" and "Geschäfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geschäfte vs Geschäftes". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,996,978 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