GIFsvsGifteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“GIFs” and “Gifte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,133
“GIFs” frequency rank
#35,208
“Gifte” frequency rank
69341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature GIFs Gifte
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs GIF Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gift

Where the eye mixes GIFs and Gifte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. GIFs runs 4 letters (CVCC) against Gifte's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
GIFs
5 ch
Gifte

Look-alike desk: GIFs vs Gifte

A purely visual mix-up. GIFs ([ɡɪfs]) and Gifte ([ˈɡɪftə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

GIFs is recorded at frequency rank #34,133, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡɪfs]. Gifte is at rank #35,208, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡɪftə].

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 69341, this pair ranks #479,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of GIFs vs Gifte

Shared letters: fgi. Private to "GIFs": s. Private to "Gifte": et.

"GIFs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Gifte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • GIFs ← gfis · ggifs · giffs · gifss · gisf · igfs
  • Gifte ← gfite · ggifte · gifet · giffte · giftte · gitfe · igfte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "GIFs" for "Gifte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡɪfs] versus [ˈɡɪftə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "GIFs" or "Gifte"?
"GIFs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,133 in our German list, against #35,208 for "Gifte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "GIFs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gifte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #479,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "GIFs" and "Gifte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "GIFs vs GIMP". 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 #479,549 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