geselltvsgespültConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#30,580
“gesellt” frequency rank
#23,957
“gespült” frequency rank
54537
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gesellt gespült
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gesellen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs spülen

Where the eye mixes gesellt and gespült

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gesellt (CVCVCCC) and gespült (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
gesellt
7 ch
gespült

Why the eye confuses gesellt with gespült

A purely visual mix-up. gesellt ([ɡəˈzɛlt]) and gespült ([ɡəˈʃpyːlt]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gesellt is recorded at frequency rank #30,580, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛlt]. gespült is at rank #23,957, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpyːlt].

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 54537, this pair ranks #1,015,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gesellt vs gespült

Shared letters: eglst. Private to "gesellt": -. Private to "gespült": pü.

"gesellt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "gespült" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gesellt ← egsellt · geesllt · geselltt · geselt · geseltl · geslelt · gessellt · ggesellt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gesellt" and "gespült" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈzɛlt] versus [ɡəˈʃpyːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gesellt" or "gespült"?
"gespült" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,957 in our German list, against #30,580 for "gesellt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "gesellt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gespült" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,015,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gesellt" and "gespült" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gesell vs gesellt". 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 #1,015,041 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