grünemvsgutemConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,944
“grünem” frequency rank
#4,125
“gutem” frequency rank
25069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grünem gutem
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs grün Dativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gut

Where the eye mixes grünem and gutem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. grünem runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against gutem's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
grünem
5 ch
gutem

Visual trap between grünem and gutem

A purely visual mix-up. grünem ([ˈɡʁyːnəm]) and gutem ([ˈɡuːtəm]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grünem is recorded at frequency rank #20,944, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁyːnəm]. gutem is at rank #4,125, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡuːtəm].

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 25069, this pair ranks #1,838,598 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of grünem vs gutem

Shared letters: egm. Private to "grünem": nrü. Private to "gutem": tu.

"grünem" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "gutem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gutem ← ggutem · gtuem · guetm · gutemm · gutme · guttem · ugtem

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "grünem" and "gutem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʁyːnəm] versus [ˈɡuːtəm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "grünem" or "gutem" show up more?
"gutem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,125 in our German list, against #20,944 for "grünem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "grünem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gutem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,838,598 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grünem" and "gutem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grünem vs grusel". 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 #1,838,598 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