gleichvsGleiseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gleich is a adjective, Gleise is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gleich” is an adjective and “Gleise” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#234
“gleich” frequency rank
#13,850
“Gleise” frequency rank
14084
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gleich Gleise
Definition in jeder Hinsicht einander ähnelnd; so geartet, dass die Eigenschaften zweier Dinge sich wenig beziehungsweise gar nicht unterscheiden Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Gleis

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gleich and Gleise apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
gleich
6 ch
Gleise

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gleich is [ɡlaɪ̯ç] while Gleise is [ˈɡlaɪ̯zə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14084, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gleich is recorded at frequency rank #234, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡlaɪ̯ç]. Gleise is at rank #13,850, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯zə].

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 14084, this pair ranks #1,953,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gleich vs Gleise

Shared letters: egil. Private to "gleich": ch. Private to "Gleise": s.

"gleich" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC  ·  "Gleise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gleichgelich · ggleich · glecih · gleicch · gleichh · gleihc · gliech · glleich
  • Gleisegelise · ggleise · gleies · gleisse · glesie · gliese · glleise · lgeise

Frequency comparison

gleich#234
Gleise#13,850

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gleich" and "Gleise" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gleich" is an adjective and "Gleise" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gleich" or "Gleise"?
"gleich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #234 in our German list, against #13,850 for "Gleise". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gleich vs Gleise

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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