mitgebenvsmitgehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,290
“mitgeben” frequency rank
#21,002
“mitgehen” frequency rank
59292
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mitgeben mitgehen
Definition jemandem, der geht, etwas übergeben (meist zu einem bestimmten Zweck) sich (zu Fuß) in die gleiche Richtung bewegen; mit jemandem oder etwas gehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mitgeben and mitgehen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
mitgeben
8 ch
mitgehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mitgeben ([ˈmɪtˌɡeːbn̩]) and mitgehen ([ˈmɪtˌɡeːən]) 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 - b in “mitgeben” becomes h in “mitgehen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mitgeben is recorded at frequency rank #38,290, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌɡeːbn̩]. mitgehen is at rank #21,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌɡeːən].

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 59292, this pair ranks #829,965 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mitgeben vs mitgehen

Shared letters: egimnt. Private to "mitgeben": b. Private to "mitgehen": h.

"mitgeben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "mitgehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mitgebenimtgeben · migteben · mitegben · mitgbeen · mitgebben · mitgebenn · mitgebne · mitgeebn
  • mitgehenimtgehen · migtehen · miteghen · mitgeehn · mitgehenn · mitgehhen · mitgehne · mitggehen

Frequency comparison

mitgeben#38,290
mitgehen#21,002

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mitgeben" and "mitgehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪtˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈmɪtˌɡeːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mitgeben" or "mitgehen"?
"mitgehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,002 in our German list, against #38,290 for "mitgeben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mitgeben vs mitgehen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mitgeben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list