gleichevsgleichemWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gleiche is a verb, gleichem is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gleiche” is a verb and “gleichem” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,059
“gleiche” frequency rank
#13,385
“gleichem” frequency rank
14444
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gleiche gleichem
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gleichen Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gleich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gleiche and gleichem apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
gleiche
8 ch
gleichem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gleiche is [ˈɡlaɪ̯çə] while gleichem is [ˈɡlaɪ̯çm̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “gleiche” sits inside “gleichem”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14444, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gleiche is recorded at frequency rank #1,059, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯çə]. gleichem is at rank #13,385, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯çm̩].

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 14444, this pair ranks #1,951,182 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gleiche vs gleichem

Shared letters: ceghil. Private to "gleiche": -. Private to "gleichem": m.

"gleiche" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV  ·  "gleichem" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gleichegeliche · ggleiche · glecihe · gleicche · gleiceh · gleichhe · gleihce · glieche
  • gleichemgelichem · ggleichem · glecihem · gleicchem · gleicehm · gleichemm · gleichhem · gleichme

Frequency comparison

gleiche#1,059
gleichem#13,385

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gleiche" and "gleichem" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gleiche" is a verb and "gleichem" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gleiche" or "gleichem"?
"gleiche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,059 in our German list, against #13,385 for "gleichem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gleiche vs gleichem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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