gewöhnenvsgewohntWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gewöhnen is a verb, gewohnt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gewöhnen” is a verb and “gewohnt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,068
“gewöhnen” frequency rank
#3,254
“gewohnt” frequency rank
11322
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewöhnen gewohnt
Definition sich an einen Brauch oder an eine Umgebung anpassen, so dass sie nicht mehr neue Erfahrungen sind so, wie man es kennt; so, dass man es nicht anders kennt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gewöhnen and gewohnt apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gewöhnen
7 ch
gewohnt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gewöhnen and gewohnt form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewöhnen is recorded at frequency rank #8,068, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvøːnən]. gewohnt is at rank #3,254, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvoːnt].

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 11322, this pair ranks #1,970,491 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

gewöhnen#8,068
gewohnt#3,254

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gewöhnen" and "gewohnt" be used interchangeably?
No, "gewöhnen" and "gewohnt" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering gewöhnen vs gewohnt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gewöhnen”; for an adjective, it's “gewohnt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gewöhnen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list