gewichenvsgleichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,391
“gewichen” frequency rank
#763
“gleichen” frequency rank
40154
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewichen gleichen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs weichen wenige oder keine Unterschiede zu einer anderen Sache aufweisen

Where the eye mixes gewichen and gleichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
gewichen
8 ch
gleichen

Visual trap between gewichen and gleichen

A purely visual mix-up. gewichen ([ɡəˈvɪçn̩]) and gleichen ([ˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩]) 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 40154, 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]. gleichen is at rank #763, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩].

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 40154, this pair ranks #1,516,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gewichen vs gleichen

Shared letters: ceghin. Private to "gewichen": w. Private to "gleichen": l.

"gewichen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gleichen" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gewichenegwichen · geiwchen · gewcihen · gewicchen · gewicehn · gewichenn · gewichhen · gewichne
  • gleichengelichen · ggleichen · glecihen · gleicchen · gleicehn · gleichenn · gleichhen · gleichne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gewichen" and "gleichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvɪçn̩] versus [ˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gewichen" or "gleichen"?
"gleichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #763 in our German list, against #39,391 for "gewichen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "gewichen" and "gleichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gewichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gleichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,516,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gewichen" and "gleichen" 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 #1,516,539 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