getreuvsGetueTell them apart

Quick tell: getreu is a adjective, Getue is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#21,626
“getreu” frequency rank
#39,971
“Getue” frequency rank
61597
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature getreu Getue
Definition treu und loyal gegenüber jemandem gekünsteltes Benehmen, Verhalten

Where the eye mixes getreu and Getue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. getreu runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against Getue's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
getreu
5 ch
Getue

Look-alike desk: getreu vs Getue

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: getreu is [ɡəˈtʁɔɪ̯] while Getue is [ɡəˈtuːə]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

getreu is recorded at frequency rank #21,626, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈtʁɔɪ̯]. Getue is at rank #39,971, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈtuːə].

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 61597, this pair ranks #743,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of getreu vs Getue

Shared letters: egtu. Private to "getreu": r. Private to "Getue": -.

"getreu" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "Getue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • getreu ← egtreu · gerteu · geteru · getrreu · getrue · gettreu · ggetreu · gtereu
  • Getue ← egtue · geteu · gettue · geute · ggetue · gteue

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "getreu" and "Getue" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "getreu" is an adjective and "Getue" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "getreu" or "Getue" show up more?
"getreu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,626 in our German list, against #39,971 for "Getue". 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 "getreu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Getue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #743,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "getreu" and "Getue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Getöse vs Getue". 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 #743,760 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