Which to use
“gute” and “gutem” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #226
- “gute” frequency rank
- #4,125
- “gutem” frequency rank
- 4351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gute | gutem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gut | Dativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gut |
Where the eye mixes gute and gutem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gute runs 4 letters (CVCV) against gutem's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gute and gutem
A purely visual mix-up. gute ([ˈɡuːtə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “gute” sits inside “gutem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gute is recorded at frequency rank #226, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡuːtə]. 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 4351, this pair ranks #1,997,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gute vs gutem
Shared letters: egtu. Private to "gute": -. Private to "gutem": m.
"gute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "gutem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gute" for "gutem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gute" or "gutem"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gute" 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 #1,997,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gute" and "gutem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "guckte vs gute". 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 #1,997,943 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.