Geschäfte vs geschämt, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,959
“Geschäfte” frequency rank: #41,854
“geschämt” frequency rank: 44813
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Geschäfte	geschämt
Definition	veraltend: Dativ Singular des Substantivs Geschäft	Partizip Perfekt des Verbs schämen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Geschäfte and geschämt apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

Geschäfte

8 ch

geschämt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Geschäfte is [ɡəˈʃɛftə] while geschämt is [ɡəˈʃɛːmt]. 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 44813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geschäfte is recorded at frequency rank #2,959, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʃɛftə]. geschämt is at rank #41,854, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃɛːmt].

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 44813, this pair ranks #1,373,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Geschäfte vs geschämt

Shared letters: ceghstä. Private to "Geschäfte": f. Private to "geschämt": m.

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

Frequency comparison

Geschäfte#2,959

geschämt#41,854

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Geschäfte" and "geschämt" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Geschäfte" is a noun and "geschämt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Geschäfte" or "geschämt"?

"Geschäfte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,959 in our German list, against #41,854 for "geschämt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Geschäfte vs geschämt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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