gleichemvsglichenConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#13,385
“gleichem” frequency rank
#36,369
“glichen” frequency rank
49754
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes gleichem and glichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gleichem runs 8 letters (CCVVCCVC) against glichen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
gleichem
7 ch
glichen

Why the eye confuses gleichem with glichen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gleichem is [ˈɡlaɪ̯çm̩] while glichen is [ˈɡlɪçn̩]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gleichem is recorded at frequency rank #13,385, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯çm̩]. glichen is at rank #36,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlɪçn̩].

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 49754, this pair ranks #1,199,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gleichem vs glichen

Shared letters: ceghil. Private to "gleichem": m. Private to "glichen": n.

"gleichem" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC  ·  "glichen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gleichem ← gelichem · ggleichem · glecihem · gleicchem · gleicehm · gleichemm · gleichhem · gleichme
  • glichen ← gglichen · gilchen · glcihen · glicchen · glicehn · glichenn · glichhen · glichne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gleichem" and "glichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gleichem" is an adjective and "glichen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "gleichem" vs "glichen" - which ranks higher?
"gleichem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,385 in our German list, against #36,369 for "glichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gleichem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "glichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,199,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gleichem" and "glichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gewichen vs glichen". 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 #1,199,596 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