gleichevsGleiseWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,059
“gleiche” frequency rank
#13,850
“Gleise” frequency rank
14909
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gleiche Gleise
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gleichen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Gleis

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gleiche and Gleise apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
gleiche
6 ch
Gleise

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gleiche is [ˈɡlaɪ̯çə] while Gleise is [ˈɡlaɪ̯zə]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14909, 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]. 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 14909, this pair ranks #1,947,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gleiche vs Gleise

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

"gleiche" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV  ·  "Gleise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gleichegeliche · ggleiche · glecihe · gleicche · gleiceh · gleichhe · gleihce · glieche
  • Gleisegelise · ggleise · gleies · gleisse · glesie · gliese · glleise · lgeise

Frequency comparison

gleiche#1,059
Gleise#13,850

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gleiche" and "Gleise" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gleiche" is a verb and "Gleise" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gleiche" or "Gleise"?
"gleiche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,059 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 gleiche vs Gleise

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gleiche”; for a noun, it's “Gleise”.
  • 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