Which to use
“gewählt” is a verb and “Gewalt” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,036
- “gewählt” frequency rank
- #1,082
- “Gewalt” frequency rank
- 2118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gewählt | Gewalt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs wählen | erhebliche oder übermäßige Kraft, dies bei gezieltem Tun gegen Widerstände, oft ohne Legitimation |
Where the eye mixes gewählt and Gewalt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gewählt runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against Gewalt's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gewählt with Gewalt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gewählt is [ɡəˈvɛːlt] while Gewalt is [ɡəˈvalt]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gewählt is recorded at frequency rank #1,036, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvɛːlt]. Gewalt is at rank #1,082, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈvalt].
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 2118, this pair ranks #2,003,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gewählt vs Gewalt
Shared letters: egltw. Private to "gewählt": hä. Private to "Gewalt": a.
"gewählt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "Gewalt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Gewalt ← egwalt · geawlt · gewallt · gewaltt · gewatl · gewlat · gewwalt · ggewalt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gewählt" for "Gewalt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gewählt" or "Gewalt" show up more?
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 "gewählt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gewalt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gewählt" and "Gewalt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gemäht vs Gewalt". 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 #2,003,072 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.