GesetzevsgesteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,341
“Gesetze” frequency rank
#8,566
“geste” frequency rank
10907
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gesetze geste
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gesetz Gebärde, Geste

Where the eye mixes Gesetze and geste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Gesetze runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against geste's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Gesetze
5 ch
geste

Look-alike desk: Gesetze vs geste

A purely visual mix-up. Gesetze ([ɡəˈzɛt͡sə]) and geste ([ʒɛst]) 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 10907, 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]. geste is at rank #8,566, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʒɛst].

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 10907, this pair ranks #1,972,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gesetze vs geste

Shared letters: egst. Private to "Gesetze": z. Private to "geste": -.

"Gesetze" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "geste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gesetzeegsetze · geestze · gesetez · gesettze · gesetzze · gesezte · gessetze · gesteze
  • gesteegste · geset · gesste · gestte · getse · ggeste · gsete

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gesetze" and "geste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈzɛt͡sə] versus [ʒɛst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gesetze" or "geste"?
"Gesetze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,341 in our German list, against #8,566 for "geste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gesetze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "geste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,972,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gesetze" and "geste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geste vs Gustl". 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 #1,972,693 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