Which to use
“Gedanke” and “Gedankens” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,189
- “Gedanke” frequency rank
- #47,419
- “Gedankens” frequency rank
- 50608
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gedanke | Gedankens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vorgang des Denkens | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gedanke |
Where the eye mixes Gedanke and Gedankens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Gedanke with Gedankens
A purely visual mix-up. Gedanke ([ɡəˈdaŋkə]) and Gedankens ([ɡəˈdaŋkn̩s]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Gedanke” sits inside “Gedankens”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gedanke is recorded at frequency rank #3,189, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈdaŋkə]. Gedankens is at rank #47,419, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩s].
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 50608, this pair ranks #1,167,236 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Gedanke vs Gedankens
Shared letters: adegkn. Private to "Gedanke": -. Private to "Gedankens": s.
"Gedanke" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "Gedankens" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Gedanke" and "Gedankens" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Gedanke" vs "Gedankens" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gedanke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gedankens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,167,236 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gedanke" and "Gedankens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gedankens vs gedenken". 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 #1,167,236 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.