gesehenvsgesteheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#339
“gesehen” frequency rank
#25,572
“gestehe” frequency rank
25911
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gesehen gestehe
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs sehen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gestehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gesehen and gestehe apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
gesehen
7 ch
gestehe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gesehen ([ɡəˈzeːən]) and gestehe ([ɡəˈʃteːə]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gesehen is recorded at frequency rank #339, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈzeːən]. gestehe is at rank #25,572, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃteːə].

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 25911, this pair ranks #1,826,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gesehen vs gestehe

Shared letters: eghs. Private to "gesehen": n. Private to "gestehe": t.

"gesehen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "gestehe" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gesehenegsehen · geeshen · geseehn · gesehenn · gesehhen · gesehne · gesheen · gessehen
  • gesteheegstehe · gesethe · gesstehe · gesteeh · gestehhe · gesthee · gesttehe · getsehe

Frequency comparison

gesehen#339
gestehe#25,572

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gesehen" and "gestehe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈzeːən] versus [ɡəˈʃteːə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gesehen" or "gestehe"?
"gesehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #339 in our German list, against #25,572 for "gestehe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gesehen vs gestehe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gesehen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list