gedachtenvsgerechtenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#32,054
“gedachten” frequency rank
#15,897
“gerechten” frequency rank
47951
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gedachten gerechten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gedacht Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gerecht

Where the eye mixes gedachten and gerechten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gedachten and gerechten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
gedachten
9 ch
gerechten

Look-alike desk: gedachten vs gerechten

A purely visual mix-up. gedachten ([ɡəˈdaxtn̩]) and gerechten ([ɡəˈʁɛçtn̩]) 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 47951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gedachten is recorded at frequency rank #32,054, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈdaxtn̩]. gerechten is at rank #15,897, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɛçtn̩].

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 47951, this pair ranks #1,266,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gedachten vs gerechten

Shared letters: ceghnt. Private to "gedachten": ad. Private to "gerechten": r.

"gedachten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "gerechten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gedachtenegdachten · gdeachten · geadchten · gedacchten · gedachetn · gedachhten · gedachtenn · gedachtne
  • gerechtenegrechten · geerchten · gercehten · gerecchten · gerechetn · gerechhten · gerechtenn · gerechtne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gedachten" and "gerechten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈdaxtn̩] versus [ɡəˈʁɛçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gedachten" or "gerechten"?
"gerechten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,897 in our German list, against #32,054 for "gedachten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "gedachten" and "gerechten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gedachten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gerechten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,266,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gedachten" and "gerechten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedachten vs gedrehten". 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 #1,266,100 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