GabelvsGabelnTell them apart

Which to use

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

#13,606
“Gabel” frequency rank
#45,950
“Gabeln” frequency rank
59556
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gabel Gabeln
Definition kurz für Astgabel Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Gabel

Where the eye mixes Gabel and Gabeln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Gabel
6 ch
Gabeln

Visual trap between Gabel and Gabeln

A purely visual mix-up. Gabel ([ˈɡaːbl̩]) and Gabeln ([ˈɡaːbl̩n]) 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) - “Gabel” sits inside “Gabeln”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gabel is recorded at frequency rank #13,606, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaːbl̩]. Gabeln is at rank #45,950, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaːbl̩n].

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 59556, this pair ranks #820,177 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gabel vs Gabeln

Shared letters: abegl. Private to "Gabel": -. Private to "Gabeln": n.

"Gabel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Gabeln" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gabelagbel · gabbel · gabell · gable · gaebl · gbael · ggabel
  • Gabelnagbeln · gabbeln · gabelln · gabelnn · gabenl · gablen · gaebln · gbaeln

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gabel" for "Gabeln" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡaːbl̩] versus [ˈɡaːbl̩n]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gabel" or "Gabeln"?
"Gabel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,606 in our German list, against #45,950 for "Gabeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Gabel" and "Gabeln" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gabel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gabeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #820,177 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gabel" and "Gabeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gabeln vs gasen". 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 #820,177 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