Which to use
“Gedanken” is a noun and “gedankt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #790
- “Gedanken” frequency rank
- #25,562
- “gedankt” frequency rank
- 26352
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gedanken | gedankt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vorgang des Denkens | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs danken |
Where the eye mixes Gedanken and gedankt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Gedanken runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gedankt's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Gedanken vs gedankt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gedanken is [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩] while gedankt is [ɡəˈdaŋkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gedanken is recorded at frequency rank #790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩]. gedankt is at rank #25,562, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈdaŋkt].
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 26352, this pair ranks #1,819,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Gedanken vs gedankt
Shared letters: adegkn. Private to "Gedanken": -. Private to "gedankt": t.
"Gedanken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gedankt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Gedanken" and "gedankt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Gedanken" or "gedankt"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gedanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gedankt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,819,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gedanken" and "gedankt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedankt vs getränkt". 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 #1,819,482 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.