gewannenvsgewöhnenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,053
“gewannen” frequency rank
#8,068
“gewöhnen” frequency rank
15121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewannen gewöhnen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gewinnen sich an einen Brauch oder an eine Umgebung anpassen, so dass sie nicht mehr neue Erfahrungen sind

Where the eye mixes gewannen and gewöhnen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
gewannen
8 ch
gewöhnen

Look-alike desk: gewannen vs gewöhnen

A purely visual mix-up. gewannen ([ɡəˈvanən]) and gewöhnen ([ɡəˈvøːnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewannen is recorded at frequency rank #7,053, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvanən]. gewöhnen is at rank #8,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvøːnən].

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 15121, this pair ranks #1,946,232 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gewannen vs gewöhnen

Shared letters: egnw. Private to "gewannen": a. Private to "gewöhnen": .

"gewannen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gewöhnen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gewannenegwannen · geawnnen · gewanen · gewanenn · gewannenn · gewannne · gewnanen · gewwannen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gewannen" and "gewöhnen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvanən] versus [ɡəˈvøːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gewannen" or "gewöhnen"?
"gewannen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,053 in our German list, against #8,068 for "gewöhnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gewannen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gewöhnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,946,232 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gewannen" and "gewöhnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gewöhnen vs Gewöhnung". 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 #1,946,232 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