gewähltenvsgewährtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,542
“gewählten” frequency rank
#35,806
“gewährten” frequency rank
42348
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewählten gewährten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gewählt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs gewährt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gewählten and gewährten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
gewählten
9 ch
gewährten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gewählten ([ɡəˈvɛːltn̩]) and gewährten ([ɡəˈvɛːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 a single letter - l in “gewählten” becomes r in “gewährten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42348, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewählten is recorded at frequency rank #6,542, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvɛːltn̩]. gewährten is at rank #35,806, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvɛːɐ̯tn̩].

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 42348, this pair ranks #1,452,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gewählten vs gewährten

Shared letters: eghntwä. Private to "gewählten": l. Private to "gewährten": r.

"gewählten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "gewährten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

gewählten#6,542
gewährten#35,806

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gewählten" and "gewährten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvɛːltn̩] versus [ɡəˈvɛːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gewählten" or "gewährten"?
"gewählten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,542 in our German list, against #35,806 for "gewährten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gewählten vs gewährten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gewählten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list