GesetzenvsgesetzteConfusable pair

Quick tell: Gesetzen is a noun, gesetzte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Gesetzen” is a noun and “gesetzte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,326
“Gesetzen” frequency rank
#16,165
“gesetzte” frequency rank
23491
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gesetzen gesetzte
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gesetz Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gesetzt

Where the eye mixes Gesetzen and gesetzte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Gesetzen (CVCVCCVC) and gesetzte (CVCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
Gesetzen
8 ch
gesetzte

Visual trap between Gesetzen and gesetzte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gesetzen is [ɡəˈzɛt͡sn̩] while gesetzte is [ɡəˈzɛt͡stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gesetzen is recorded at frequency rank #7,326, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡sn̩]. gesetzte is at rank #16,165, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡stə].

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 23491, this pair ranks #1,860,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gesetzen vs gesetzte

Shared letters: egstz. Private to "Gesetzen": n. Private to "gesetzte": -.

"Gesetzen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gesetzte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gesetzen ← egsetzen · geestzen · gesetezn · gesettzen · gesetzenn · gesetzne · gesetzzen · gesezten
  • gesetzte ← egsetzte · geestzte · gesettzte · gesetzet · gesetztte · gesetzzte · geseztte · gessetzte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gesetzen" and "gesetzte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gesetzen" is a noun and "gesetzte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Gesetzen" vs "gesetzte" - which ranks higher?
"Gesetzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,326 in our German list, against #16,165 for "gesetzte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gesetzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gesetzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,860,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gesetzen" and "gesetzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemetzel vs Gesetzen". 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 #1,860,626 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