gegen

\ˈɡeː.ɡən\

/\ˈɡeː.ɡən\/ prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“gegen” is uncommon French (frequency #79,344 among 2,617 “G” headwords), classed as a preposition. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,344
frequency rank, French
2,617
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Contre (en opposition à).

Corpus desk

Index FR-gegen · gegen · French

gegen · rank #79,344 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,344
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,617
  • PHOTO-FINISH gathering

Nearest frequency peer: gathering (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangs de longue queue près de « gegen »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « gegen » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gegen
PropertyValue
Headwordgegen
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPreposition
IPA\ˈɡeː.ɡən\
Letters5
Frequency rank#79,344
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « gegen » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).gegentombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « gathering » (#79,343), « Germania » (#79,346), « Gance » (#79,341). Parmi 2,617 lemmes en « G », « gegen » est au #79,344. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gegen is uncommon French at frequency #79,344 among 2,617 “G” headwords, classed as apreposition, transcribed \ˈɡeː.ɡən\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 17 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for gegen in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is gegen, spelled G-E-G-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Contre (en opposition à).
  2. 2
    Introduit la compensation, la contrepartie.
  3. 3
    Contre (auprès de).
  4. 4
    Vers, autour de (un moment, dans le sens temporel).
  5. 5
    Contre, en direction de, caractérise une position.
  6. 6
    Sur, dans le contexte de fenêtres ou portes qui donnent sur une direction.
  7. 7
    Contre, en direction de, caractérise un mouvement.
  8. 8
    Contre, en relation à un autre élément.
  9. 9
    Contre, caractérise un toucher.
  10. 10
    Contre, indique une opposition hostile.
  11. 11
    Contre, indique une relation amicale ou respectueuse.
  12. 12
    Contre, indique une protection ou prévention.
  13. 13
    En comparaison avec.
  14. 14
    Contre, indique un échange.
  15. 15
    À peu près.
  16. 16
    Environ, à peu près, autour de.
  17. 17
    Envers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gegen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Der Erklärung der Vereinten Nationen über die Beseitigung der Gewalt gegen Frauen.
  2. Das ist eine gute Arznei gegen Halsschmerzen.

Synonyms

wider

Antonyms

für

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gegen"?
"gegen" is spelled G-E-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈɡeː.ɡən\.
What does "gegen" mean?
As a preposition, "gegen" means: Contre (en opposition à).
How do you pronounce "gegen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gegen" is \ˈɡeː.ɡən\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "gegen" come from?
"gegen" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gegen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Gance#79,341fucks#79,337fromm#79,336Gough#79,353

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list