GesetzevsGesetzesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,341
“Gesetze” frequency rank
#5,596
“Gesetzes” frequency rank
7937
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gesetze Gesetzes
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gesetz Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gesetz

Where the eye mixes Gesetze and Gesetzes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Gesetze
8 ch
Gesetzes

Visual trap between Gesetze and Gesetzes

A purely visual mix-up. Gesetze ([ɡəˈzɛt͡sə]) and Gesetzes ([ɡəˈzɛt͡səs]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Gesetze” sits inside “Gesetzes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gesetze is recorded at frequency rank #2,341, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡sə]. Gesetzes is at rank #5,596, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡səs].

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 7937, this pair ranks #1,986,265 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gesetze vs Gesetzes

Shared letters: egstz. Private to "Gesetze": -. Private to "Gesetzes": -.

"Gesetze" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "Gesetzes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gesetzeegsetze · geestze · gesetez · gesettze · gesetzze · gesezte · gessetze · gesteze
  • Gesetzesegsetzes · geestzes · gesetezs · gesettzes · gesetzess · gesetzse · gesetzzes · geseztes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gesetze" for "Gesetzes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈzɛt͡sə] versus [ɡəˈzɛt͡səs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gesetze" or "Gesetzes"?
"Gesetze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,341 in our German list, against #5,596 for "Gesetzes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Gesetze" and "Gesetzes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gesetze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gesetzes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,986,265 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gesetze" and "Gesetzes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemetzel vs Gesetzes". 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 #1,986,265 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