Which to use
“gebeten” and “gelesen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,188
- “gebeten” frequency rank
- #1,224
- “gelesen” frequency rank
- 4412
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gebeten | gelesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bitten | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs lesen |
Where the eye mixes gebeten and gelesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gebeten and gelesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: gebeten vs gelesen
A purely visual mix-up. gebeten ([ɡəˈbeːtn̩]) and gelesen ([ɡəˈleːzn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4412, 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]. gelesen is at rank #1,224, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈleːzn̩].
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 4412, this pair ranks #1,997,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gebeten vs gelesen
Shared letters: egn. Private to "gebeten": bt. Private to "gelesen": ls.
"gebeten" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "gelesen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gebeten" and "gelesen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gebeten" or "gelesen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gebeten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,997,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gebeten" and "gelesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebeten vs gebotene". 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 #1,997,786 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.