GeschlechtvsgeschmecktWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,192
“Geschlecht” frequency rank
#15,372
“geschmeckt” frequency rank
18564
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geschlecht geschmeckt
Definition die Eigenschaft höherer Lebewesen, männlich oder weiblich zu sein (einschließlich Misch- oder Zwischenformen) Partizip Perfekt des Verbs schmecken

Where the eye mixes Geschlecht and geschmeckt

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

10 ch
Geschlecht
10 ch
geschmeckt

Visual trap between Geschlecht and geschmeckt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Geschlecht is [ɡəˈʃlɛçt] while geschmeckt is [ɡəˈʃmɛkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18564, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geschlecht is recorded at frequency rank #3,192, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʃlɛçt]. geschmeckt is at rank #15,372, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃmɛkt].

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 18564, this pair ranks #1,917,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Geschlecht vs geschmeckt

Shared letters: ceghst. Private to "Geschlecht": l. Private to "geschmeckt": km.

"Geschlecht" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCC  ·  "geschmeckt" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geschlechtegschlecht · gecshlecht · gescchlecht · geschelcht · geschhlecht · geschlceht · geschleccht · geschlechht
  • geschmecktegschmeckt · gecshmeckt · gescchmeckt · geschemckt · geschhmeckt · geschmcekt · geschmecckt · geschmeckkt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geschlecht" for "geschmeckt" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Geschlecht" is a noun and "geschmeckt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Geschlecht" or "geschmeckt"?
"Geschlecht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,192 in our German list, against #15,372 for "geschmeckt". 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 "Geschlecht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "geschmeckt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,917,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geschlecht" and "geschmeckt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geschmeckt vs geschmückte". 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 #1,917,043 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