gedenkevsgedenktWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,511
“gedenke” frequency rank
#23,141
“gedenkt” frequency rank
65652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gedenke gedenkt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gedenken 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gedenken

Where the eye mixes gedenke and gedenkt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gedenke (CVCVCCV) and gedenkt (CVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
gedenke
7 ch
gedenkt

Why the eye confuses gedenke with gedenkt

A purely visual mix-up. gedenke ([ɡəˈdɛŋkə]) and gedenkt ([ɡəˈdɛŋkt]) 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 a single letter - e in “gedenke” becomes t in “gedenkt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gedenke is recorded at frequency rank #42,511, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈdɛŋkə]. gedenkt is at rank #23,141, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈdɛŋkt].

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 65652, this pair ranks #599,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gedenke vs gedenkt

Shared letters: degkn. Private to "gedenke": -. Private to "gedenkt": t.

"gedenke" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "gedenkt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gedenkeegdenke · gdeenke · geddenke · gedekne · gedenek · gedenkke · gedennke · gedneke
  • gedenktegdenkt · gdeenkt · geddenkt · gedeknt · gedenkkt · gedenktt · gedennkt · gedentk

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gedenke" and "gedenkt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈdɛŋkə] versus [ɡəˈdɛŋkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gedenke" vs "gedenkt" - which ranks higher?
"gedenkt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,141 in our German list, against #42,511 for "gedenke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gedenke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gedenkt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #599,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gedenke" and "gedenkt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedenke vs Gewerke". 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 #599,532 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