GedankenvsGetränkenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#790
“Gedanken” frequency rank
#14,304
“Getränken” frequency rank
15094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gedanken Getränken
Definition Vorgang des Denkens Dativ Plural des Substantivs Getränk

Where the eye mixes Gedanken and Getränken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Gedanken runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against Getränken's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Gedanken
9 ch
Getränken

Why the eye confuses Gedanken with Getränken

A purely visual mix-up. Gedanken ([ɡəˈdaŋkn̩]) and Getränken ([ɡəˈtʁɛŋkn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gedanken is recorded at frequency rank #790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩]. Getränken is at rank #14,304, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈtʁɛŋkn̩].

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 15094, this pair ranks #1,946,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gedanken vs Getränken

Shared letters: egkn. Private to "Gedanken": ad. Private to "Getränken": rtä.

"Gedanken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "Getränken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gedankenegdanken · gdeanken · geadnken · gedaknen · gedanekn · gedankenn · gedankken · gedankne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gedanken" and "Getränken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈdaŋkn̩] versus [ɡəˈtʁɛŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gedanken" vs "Getränken" - which ranks higher?
"Gedanken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #790 in our German list, against #14,304 for "Getränken". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gedanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Getränken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,946,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gedanken" and "Getränken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Getränken 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 #1,946,443 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