Which to use
“gewöhnen” is a verb and “gewohnte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,068
- “gewöhnen” frequency rank
- #28,222
- “gewohnte” frequency rank
- 36290
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gewöhnen | gewohnte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich an einen Brauch oder an eine Umgebung anpassen, so dass sie nicht mehr neue Erfahrungen sind | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gewohnt |
Where the eye mixes gewöhnen and gewohnte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gewöhnen (CVCVCCVC) and gewohnte (CVCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses gewöhnen with gewohnte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gewöhnen is [ɡəˈvøːnən] while gewohnte is [ɡəˈvoːntə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36290, 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]. gewohnte is at rank #28,222, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvoːntə].
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 36290, this pair ranks #1,619,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gewöhnen vs gewohnte
Shared letters: eghnw. Private to "gewöhnen": ö. Private to "gewohnte": ot.
"gewöhnen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gewohnte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- gewohnte ← egwohnte · geowhnte · gewhonte · gewohhnte · gewohnet · gewohnnte · gewohntte · gewohtne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gewöhnen" and "gewohnte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "gewöhnen" vs "gewohnte" - which ranks higher?
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 "gewöhnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gewohnte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,619,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gewöhnen" and "gewohnte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gewohnte vs gewollte". 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 #1,619,282 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.