Which to use
“gebauten” is an adjective and “gelaufen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,158
- “gebauten” frequency rank
- #2,894
- “gelaufen” frequency rank
- 19052
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gebauten | gelaufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gebaut | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs laufen |
Where the eye mixes gebauten and gelaufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses gebauten with gelaufen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebauten is [ɡəˈbaʊ̯tn̩] while gelaufen is [ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gebauten is recorded at frequency rank #16,158, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbaʊ̯tn̩]. gelaufen is at rank #2,894, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩].
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 19052, this pair ranks #1,912,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gebauten vs gelaufen
Shared letters: aegnu. Private to "gebauten": bt. Private to "gelaufen": fl.
"gebauten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "gelaufen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gebauten" and "gelaufen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gebauten" or "gelaufen" show up more?
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 "gebauten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelaufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,912,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gebauten" and "gelaufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geballten vs gebauten". 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 #1,912,305 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.