GurkevsGurtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#20,945
“Gurke” frequency rank
#24,756
“Gurt” frequency rank
45701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gurke Gurt
Definition eine Pflanzengattung in der Familie der Kürbisgewächse aus einem breiten Band bestehende Sicherungsvorrichtung

Where the eye mixes Gurke and Gurt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Gurke runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Gurt's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Gurke
4 ch
Gurt

Why the eye confuses Gurke with Gurt

A purely visual mix-up. Gurke ([ˈɡʊʁkə]) and Gurt ([ɡʊʁt]) 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 45701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gurke is recorded at frequency rank #20,945, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʊʁkə]. Gurt is at rank #24,756, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡʊʁt].

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 45701, this pair ranks #1,344,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gurke vs Gurt

Shared letters: gru. Private to "Gurke": ek. Private to "Gurt": t.

"Gurke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Gurt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gurke ← ggurke · gruke · gukre · gurek · gurkke · gurrke · ugrke
  • Gurt ← ggurt · grut · gurrt · gurtt · gutr · ugrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gurke" for "Gurt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʊʁkə] versus [ɡʊʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gurke" or "Gurt"?
"Gurke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,945 in our German list, against #24,756 for "Gurt". 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 "Gurke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gurt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,344,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gurke" and "Gurt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "guckte vs Gurke". 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 #1,344,100 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