gespaltenvsgestalteConfusable pair

Quick tell: gespalten is a adjective, gestalte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gespalten” is an adjective and “gestalte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,846
“gespalten” frequency rank
#49,728
“gestalte” frequency rank
63574
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gespalten gestalte
Definition durch Spaltung in zwei oder mehrere Teile geteilt 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gestalten

Where the eye mixes gespalten and gestalte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gespalten runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against gestalte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
gespalten
8 ch
gestalte

Look-alike desk: gespalten vs gestalte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gespalten is [ɡəˈʃpaltn̩] while gestalte is [ɡəˈʃtaltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gespalten is recorded at frequency rank #13,846, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpaltn̩]. gestalte is at rank #49,728, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃtaltə].

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 63574, this pair ranks #671,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gespalten vs gestalte

Shared letters: aeglst. Private to "gespalten": np. Private to "gestalte": -.

"gespalten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "gestalte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gespalten ← egspalten · gepsalten · gesaplten · gespaletn · gespallten · gespaltenn · gespaltne · gespaltten
  • gestalte ← egstalte · gesatlte · gesstalte · gestalet · gestallte · gestatle · gestlate · gesttalte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gespalten" and "gestalte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gespalten" is an adjective and "gestalte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gespalten" or "gestalte"?
"gespalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,846 in our German list, against #49,728 for "gestalte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gespalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gestalte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #671,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gespalten" and "gestalte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gemalte vs gestalte". 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 #671,936 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