GeburtstagenvsGeburtstagesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#45,955
“Geburtstagen” frequency rank
#30,566
“Geburtstages” frequency rank
76521
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geburtstagen Geburtstages
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Geburtstag Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Geburtstag

Where the eye mixes Geburtstagen and Geburtstages

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Geburtstagen and Geburtstages follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

12 ch
Geburtstagen
12 ch
Geburtstages

Visual trap between Geburtstagen and Geburtstages

A purely visual mix-up. Geburtstagen ([ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡn̩]) and Geburtstages ([ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡəs]) 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 - n in “Geburtstagen” becomes s in “Geburtstages”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76521, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geburtstagen is recorded at frequency rank #45,955, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡn̩]. Geburtstages is at rank #30,566, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡəs].

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 76521, this pair ranks #281,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Geburtstagen vs Geburtstages

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

"Geburtstagen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCVC  ·  "Geburtstages" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Geburtstagen ← egburtstagen · gbeurtstagen · gebburtstagen · gebrutstagen · geburrtstagen · gebursttagen · geburtsatgen · geburtsstagen
  • Geburtstages ← egburtstages · gbeurtstages · gebburtstages · gebrutstages · geburrtstages · gebursttages · geburtsatges · geburtsstages

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Geburtstagen" for "Geburtstages" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡn̩] versus [ɡəˈbuːɐ̯t͡sˌtaːɡəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Geburtstagen" or "Geburtstages"?
"Geburtstages" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,566 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Geburtstagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Geburtstages" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #281,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Geburtstagen" and "Geburtstages" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geburtstage vs Geburtstagen". 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 #281,981 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