Which to use
“gilt” is a verb and “gut” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #444
- “gilt” frequency rank
- #89
- “gut” frequency rank
- 533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gilt | gut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gelten | vom Menschen her positiv bewertet, empfunden, gefühlt und dergleichen |
Where the eye mixes gilt and gut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses gilt with gut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gilt is [ɡɪlt] while gut is [ɡuːt]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gilt is recorded at frequency rank #444, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡɪlt]. gut is at rank #89, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡuːt].
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 533, this pair ranks #2,005,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gilt vs gut
Shared letters: gt. Private to "gilt": il. Private to "gut": u.
"gilt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "gut" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gilt ← ggilt · gillt · giltt · gitl · glit · iglt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gilt" for "gut" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gilt" or "gut"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "gilt" and "gut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gilt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,005,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gilt" and "gut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gilt 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 #2,005,724 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.