Which to use
“gedenken” and “gedenkt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,708
- “gedenken” frequency rank
- #23,141
- “gedenkt” frequency rank
- 28849
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gedenken | gedenkt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Erinnerung an jemand oder etwas pflegen, wachhalten | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs gedenken |
Where the eye mixes gedenken and gedenkt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gedenken runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gedenkt's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gedenken and gedenkt
A purely visual mix-up. gedenken ([ɡəˈdɛŋkn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28849, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gedenken is recorded at frequency rank #5,708, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈdɛŋkn̩]. 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 28849, this pair ranks #1,777,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gedenken vs gedenkt
Shared letters: degkn. Private to "gedenken": -. Private to "gedenkt": t.
"gedenken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gedenkt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gedenken" for "gedenkt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gedenken" or "gedenkt" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gedenken" 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 #1,777,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gedenken" and "gedenkt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedenkt vs geleakt". 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 #1,777,490 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.