gebetenvsgelegtenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gebeten is a verb, gelegten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gebeten” is a verb and “gelegten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,188
“gebeten” frequency rank
#39,961
“gelegten” frequency rank
43149
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebeten gelegten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bitten Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelegt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gebeten and gelegten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
gebeten
8 ch
gelegten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gebeten and gelegten form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebeten is recorded at frequency rank #3,188, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbeːtn̩]. gelegten is at rank #39,961, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈleːktn̩].

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 43149, this pair ranks #1,427,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

gebeten#3,188
gelegten#39,961

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebeten" and "gelegten" be used interchangeably?
No, "gebeten" and "gelegten" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering gebeten vs gelegten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gebeten”; for an adjective, it's “gelegten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gebeten” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list