gewichenvsGewichtenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: gewichen is a verb, Gewichten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gewichen” is a verb and “Gewichten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,391
“gewichen” frequency rank
#32,065
“Gewichten” frequency rank
71456
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewichen Gewichten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs weichen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gewicht

Where the eye mixes gewichen and Gewichten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
gewichen
9 ch
Gewichten

Look-alike desk: gewichen vs Gewichten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gewichen is [ɡəˈvɪçn̩] while Gewichten is [ɡəˈvɪçtn̩]. 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 71456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewichen is recorded at frequency rank #39,391, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvɪçn̩]. Gewichten is at rank #32,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈvɪçtn̩].

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 71456, this pair ranks #416,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gewichen vs Gewichten

Shared letters: ceghinw. Private to "gewichen": -. Private to "Gewichten": t.

"gewichen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "Gewichten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gewichenegwichen · geiwchen · gewcihen · gewicchen · gewicehn · gewichenn · gewichhen · gewichne
  • Gewichtenegwichten · geiwchten · gewcihten · gewicchten · gewichetn · gewichhten · gewichtenn · gewichtne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gewichen" for "Gewichten" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gewichen" is a verb and "Gewichten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gewichen" or "Gewichten"?
"Gewichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,065 in our German list, against #39,391 for "gewichen". 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 "gewichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gewichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #416,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gewichen" and "Gewichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gewichen vs gewiesen". 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 #416,235 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