Which to use
“Gier” is a noun and “gierig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,089
- “Gier” frequency rank
- #20,274
- “gierig” frequency rank
- 32363
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gier | gierig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unmäßiges, maßloses Verlangen | triebartig danach verlangend, etwas zu bekommen oder zu besitzen |
Where the eye mixes Gier and gierig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Gier runs 4 letters (CVVC) against gierig's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Gier and gierig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gier is [ɡiːɐ̯] while gierig is [ˈɡiːʁɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Gier” sits inside “gierig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gier is recorded at frequency rank #12,089, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡiːɐ̯]. gierig is at rank #20,274, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡiːʁɪç].
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 32363, this pair ranks #1,709,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Gier vs gierig
Shared letters: egir. Private to "Gier": -. Private to "gierig": -.
"Gier" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "gierig" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Gier" for "gierig" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Gier" or "gierig" show up more?
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 "Gier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gierig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,709,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gier" and "gierig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gierig vs gierigen". 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 #1,709,257 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.