gebundenvsgefundenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,610
“gebunden” frequency rank
#443
“gefunden” frequency rank
5053
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebunden gefunden
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs binden Partizip Perfekt des Verbs finden

Where the eye mixes gebunden and gefunden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gebunden and gefunden 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
gefunden

Visual trap between gebunden and gefunden

A purely visual mix-up. gebunden ([ɡəˈbʊndn̩]) and gefunden ([ɡəˈfʊndn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “gebunden” becomes f in “gefunden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5053, 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]. gefunden is at rank #443, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfʊndn̩].

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 5053, this pair ranks #1,995,912 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebunden vs gefunden

Shared letters: degnu. Private to "gebunden": b. Private to "gefunden": f.

"gebunden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gefunden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebundenegbunden · gbeunden · gebbunden · gebnuden · gebudnen · gebundden · gebundenn · gebundne
  • gefundenegfunden · geffunden · gefnuden · gefudnen · gefundden · gefundenn · gefundne · gefunedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gebunden" for "gefunden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbʊndn̩] versus [ɡəˈfʊndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gebunden" vs "gefunden" - which ranks higher?
"gefunden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #443 in our German list, against #4,610 for "gebunden". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "gefunden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,995,912 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebunden" and "gefunden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebunden vs Gemünden". 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 #1,995,912 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