gleitenvsgleitetConfusable pair

Which to use

“gleiten” and “gleitet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,276
“gleiten” frequency rank
#30,587
“gleitet” frequency rank
50863
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gleiten gleitet
Definition (leicht und unbeschwert) schweben oder rutschen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gleiten

Where the eye mixes gleiten and gleitet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gleiten and gleitet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
gleiten
7 ch
gleitet

Why the eye confuses gleiten with gleitet

A purely visual mix-up. gleiten ([ˈɡlaɪ̯tn̩]) and gleitet ([ˈɡlaɪ̯tət]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “gleiten” becomes t in “gleitet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gleiten is recorded at frequency rank #20,276, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯tn̩]. gleitet is at rank #30,587, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯tət].

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 50863, this pair ranks #1,157,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gleiten vs gleitet

Shared letters: egilt. Private to "gleiten": n. Private to "gleitet": -.

"gleiten" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "gleitet" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gleitenggleiten · gleietn · gleitenn · gleitne · gletien · glieten · glleiten · lgeiten
  • gleitetgelitet · ggleitet · gleiett · gleitett · gleitte · gleittet · gletiet · glietet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gleiten" and "gleitet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡlaɪ̯tn̩] versus [ˈɡlaɪ̯tət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gleiten" or "gleitet"?
"gleiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,276 in our German list, against #30,587 for "gleitet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gleiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gleitet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,157,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gleiten" and "gleitet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gelebten vs gleiten". 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 #1,157,480 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