GeburtstagevsGeburtstagenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,980
“Geburtstage” frequency rank
#45,955
“Geburtstagen” frequency rank
67935
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geburtstage Geburtstagen
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Geburtstag Dativ Plural des Substantivs Geburtstag

Where the eye mixes Geburtstage and Geburtstagen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Geburtstage runs 11 letters (CVCVCCCCVCV) against Geburtstagen's 12 (CVCVCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Geburtstage
12 ch
Geburtstagen

Why the eye confuses Geburtstage with Geburtstagen

A purely visual mix-up. Geburtstage ([ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡə]) and Geburtstagen ([ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Geburtstage” sits inside “Geburtstagen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67935, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geburtstage is recorded at frequency rank #21,980, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡə]. Geburtstagen is at rank #45,955, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡn̩].

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 67935, this pair ranks #523,993 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Geburtstage vs Geburtstagen

Shared letters: abegrstu. Private to "Geburtstage": -. Private to "Geburtstagen": n.

"Geburtstage" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCV  ·  "Geburtstagen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geburtstage ← egburtstage · gbeurtstage · gebburtstage · gebrutstage · geburrtstage · gebursttage · geburtsatge · geburtsstage
  • Geburtstagen ← egburtstagen · gbeurtstagen · gebburtstagen · gebrutstagen · geburrtstagen · gebursttagen · geburtsatgen · geburtsstagen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geburtstage" for "Geburtstagen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡə] versus [ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Geburtstage" vs "Geburtstagen" - which ranks higher?
"Geburtstage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,980 in our German list, against #45,955 for "Geburtstagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Geburtstage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Geburtstagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #523,993 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geburtstage" and "Geburtstagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geburtstagen vs Geburtstages". 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 #523,993 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