gebundenvsgeduldenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,610
“gebunden” frequency rank
#31,057
“gedulden” frequency rank
35667
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebunden gedulden
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs binden warten, bis etwas an der Zeit ist, Geduld zeigen

Where the eye mixes gebunden and gedulden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gebunden and gedulden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
gebunden
8 ch
gedulden

Why the eye confuses gebunden with gedulden

A purely visual mix-up. gebunden ([ɡəˈbʊndn̩]) and gedulden ([ɡəˈdʊldn̩]) 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 35667, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebunden is recorded at frequency rank #4,610, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbʊndn̩]. gedulden is at rank #31,057, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈdʊldn̩].

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 35667, this pair ranks #1,634,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebunden vs gedulden

Shared letters: degnu. Private to "gebunden": b. Private to "gedulden": l.

"gebunden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gedulden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebundenegbunden · gbeunden · gebbunden · gebnuden · gebudnen · gebundden · gebundenn · gebundne
  • geduldenegdulden · gdeulden · geddulden · gedluden · gedudlen · geduldden · geduldenn · geduldne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gebunden" for "gedulden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbʊndn̩] versus [ɡəˈdʊldn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gebunden" or "gedulden"?
"gebunden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,610 in our German list, against #31,057 for "gedulden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "gebunden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gedulden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,634,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebunden" and "gedulden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedulden vs Gefilden". 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 #1,634,463 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