gesellvsgestelltConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#49,726
“gesell” frequency rank
#880
“gestellt” frequency rank
50606
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gesell gestellt
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gesellen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs stellen

Where the eye mixes gesell and gestellt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gesell runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against gestellt's 8 (CVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gesell
8 ch
gestellt

Look-alike desk: gesell vs gestellt

A purely visual mix-up. gesell ([ɡəˈzɛl]) and gestellt ([ɡəˈʃtɛlt]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gesell is recorded at frequency rank #49,726, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛl]. gestellt is at rank #880, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃtɛlt].

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 50606, this pair ranks #1,167,316 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gesell vs gestellt

Shared letters: egls. Private to "gesell": -. Private to "gestellt": t.

"gesell" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "gestellt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gesell ← egsell · geesll · gesel · geslel · gessell · ggesell · gseell
  • gestellt ← egstellt · gesetllt · gesstellt · gestelltt · gestelt · gesteltl · gestlelt · gesttellt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gesell" for "gestellt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈzɛl] versus [ɡəˈʃtɛlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gesell" vs "gestellt" - which ranks higher?
"gestellt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #880 in our German list, against #49,726 for "gesell". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gesell" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gestellt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,167,316 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gesell" and "gestellt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gesell vs gesellig". 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 #1,167,316 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