GiftevsgiltWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Gifte is a noun, gilt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Gifte” is a noun and “gilt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,208
“Gifte” frequency rank
#444
“gilt” frequency rank
35652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gifte gilt
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gift 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gelten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Gifte and gilt apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Gifte
4 ch
gilt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gifte is [ˈɡɪftə] while gilt is [ɡɪlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gifte is recorded at frequency rank #35,208, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡɪftə]. gilt is at rank #444, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡɪlt].

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 35652, this pair ranks #1,634,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gifte vs gilt

Shared letters: git. Private to "Gifte": ef. Private to "gilt": l.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Giftegfite · ggifte · gifet · giffte · giftte · gitfe · igfte
  • giltggilt · gillt · giltt · gitl · glit · iglt

Frequency comparison

Gifte#35,208
gilt#444

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gifte" and "gilt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gifte" is a noun and "gilt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Gifte" or "gilt"?
"gilt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #444 in our German list, against #35,208 for "Gifte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Gifte vs gilt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Gifte”; for a verb, it's “gilt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Gifte” 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