gebeugtvsgelegtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,114
“gebeugt” frequency rank
#2,060
“gelegt” frequency rank
36174
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebeugt gelegt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beugen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs legen

Where the eye mixes gebeugt and gelegt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gebeugt runs 7 letters (CVCVVCC) against gelegt's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
gebeugt
6 ch
gelegt

Why the eye confuses gebeugt with gelegt

A purely visual mix-up. gebeugt ([ɡəˈbɔɪ̯kt]) and gelegt ([ɡəˈleːkt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebeugt is recorded at frequency rank #34,114, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbɔɪ̯kt]. gelegt is at rank #2,060, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈleːkt].

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 36174, this pair ranks #1,622,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebeugt vs gelegt

Shared letters: egt. Private to "gebeugt": bu. Private to "gelegt": l.

"gebeugt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC  ·  "gelegt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebeugt ← egbeugt · gbeeugt · gebbeugt · gebegut · gebeuggt · gebeugtt · gebeutg · gebuegt
  • gelegt ← eglegt · geelgt · geleggt · gelegtt · geletg · gelget · gellegt · ggelegt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gebeugt" for "gelegt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbɔɪ̯kt] versus [ɡəˈleːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gebeugt" or "gelegt"?
"gelegt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,060 in our German list, against #34,114 for "gebeugt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gebeugt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gelegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,622,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebeugt" and "gelegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebeugt vs gerügt". 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 #1,622,170 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