gewiesenvsGewissensTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#39,392
“gewiesen” frequency rank
#20,272
“Gewissens” frequency rank
59664
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewiesen Gewissens
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs weisen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gewissen

Where the eye mixes gewiesen and Gewissens

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

8 ch
gewiesen
9 ch
Gewissens

Why the eye confuses gewiesen with Gewissens

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gewiesen is [ɡəˈviːzn̩] while Gewissens is [ɡəˈvɪsn̩s]. 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 59664, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewiesen is recorded at frequency rank #39,392, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈviːzn̩]. Gewissens is at rank #20,272, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈvɪsn̩s].

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 59664, this pair ranks #816,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gewiesen vs Gewissens

Shared letters: eginsw. Private to "gewiesen": -. Private to "Gewissens": -.

"gewiesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "Gewissens" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gewiesenegwiesen · geiwesen · geweisen · gewieesn · gewiesenn · gewiesne · gewiessen · gewiseen
  • Gewissensegwissens · geiwssens · gewisens · gewisesns · gewissenns · gewissenss · gewissesn · gewissnes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gewiesen" and "Gewissens" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gewiesen" is a verb and "Gewissens" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "gewiesen" or "Gewissens" show up more?
"Gewissens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,272 in our German list, against #39,392 for "gewiesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "gewiesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gewissens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #816,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gewiesen" and "Gewissens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerieben 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 #816,014 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