GildevsGnadeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,938
“Gilde” frequency rank
#6,303
“Gnade” frequency rank
26241
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gilde Gnade
Definition mittelalterliche, (selbstnützige ist korrekter, genossenschaftlich ist falsch) Vereinigung zum Schutz und zur Förderung gemeinsamer Interessen die Handlung, eine Strafe, die man verhängen kann, einzuschränken oder aufzuheben; die juristisch bindende Anordnung, eine bereits verhängte Strafe zu mindern oder insgesamt zu erlassen

Where the eye mixes Gilde and Gnade

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Gilde (CVCCV) and Gnade (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Gilde
5 ch
Gnade

Visual trap between Gilde and Gnade

A purely visual mix-up. Gilde ([ˈɡɪldə]) and Gnade ([ˈɡnaːdə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26241, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gilde is recorded at frequency rank #19,938, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡɪldə]. Gnade is at rank #6,303, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡnaːdə].

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 26241, this pair ranks #1,821,095 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gilde vs Gnade

Shared letters: deg. Private to "Gilde": il. Private to "Gnade": an.

"Gilde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Gnade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gilde ← ggilde · gidle · gildde · gillde · iglde
  • Gnade ← gande · ggnade · gnadde · gnaed · gndae · gnnade · ngade

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gilde" for "Gnade" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡɪldə] versus [ˈɡnaːdə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gilde" or "Gnade"?
"Gnade" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,303 in our German list, against #19,938 for "Gilde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gilde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gnade" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,821,095 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gilde" and "Gnade" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gilde vs Gilden". 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 #1,821,095 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