gewöhnenvsgewohnteWhat's the difference?

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

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gewöhnen and gewohnte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gewöhnen
8 ch
gewohnte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gewöhnen and gewohnte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.

Frequency comparison

gewöhnen#8,068
gewohnte#28,222

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gewöhnen" and "gewohnte" be used interchangeably?
No, "gewöhnen" and "gewohnte" 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 gewohnte

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 “gewohnte”.
  • 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