guckenvsguckstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,722
“gucken” frequency rank
#14,581
“guckst” frequency rank
17303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gucken guckst
Definition seine Augen auf etwas richten 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gucken

Where the eye mixes gucken and guckst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gucken (CVCCVC) and guckst (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
gucken
6 ch
guckst

Why the eye confuses gucken with guckst

A purely visual mix-up. gucken ([ˈɡʊkn̩]) and guckst ([ɡʊkst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gucken is recorded at frequency rank #2,722, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡʊkn̩]. guckst is at rank #14,581, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡʊkst].

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 17303, this pair ranks #1,928,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gucken vs guckst

Shared letters: cgku. Private to "gucken": en. Private to "guckst": st.

"gucken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "guckst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gucken ← gcuken · ggucken · guccken · gucekn · guckenn · guckken · guckne · gukcen
  • guckst ← gcukst · gguckst · gucckst · guckkst · gucksst · guckstt · guckts · gucskt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gucken" and "guckst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʊkn̩] versus [ɡʊkst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gucken" or "guckst"?
"gucken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,722 in our German list, against #14,581 for "guckst". 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 "gucken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "guckst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,928,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gucken" and "guckst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "guckst vs guckte". 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 #1,928,563 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