Which to use
“Gedanken” is a noun and “gedenke” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #790
- “Gedanken” frequency rank
- #42,511
- “gedenke” frequency rank
- 43301
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gedanken | gedenke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vorgang des Denkens | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gedenken |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Gedanken and gedenke apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Gedanken and gedenke form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43301, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gedanken is recorded at frequency rank #790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩]. gedenke is at rank #42,511, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈdɛŋkə].
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 43301, this pair ranks #1,422,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Gedanken" and "gedenke" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Gedanken vs gedenke
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Gedanken”; for a verb, it's “gedenke”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Gedanken” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable