Which to use
“gedenken” is a verb and “Gelenken” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,708
- “gedenken” frequency rank
- #38,766
- “Gelenken” frequency rank
- 44474
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gedenken | Gelenken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Erinnerung an jemand oder etwas pflegen, wachhalten | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gelenk |
Where the eye mixes gedenken and Gelenken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: gedenken vs Gelenken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gedenken is [ɡəˈdɛŋkn̩] while Gelenken is [ɡəˈlɛŋkn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “gedenken” becomes l in “Gelenken”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44474, 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]. Gelenken is at rank #38,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈlɛŋkn̩].
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 44474, this pair ranks #1,385,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gedenken vs Gelenken
Shared letters: egkn. Private to "gedenken": d. Private to "Gelenken": l.
"gedenken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "Gelenken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gedenken" and "Gelenken" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "gedenken" or "Gelenken"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "gedenken" and "Gelenken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gedenken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gelenken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,385,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gedenken" and "Gelenken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gelebten vs Gelenken". 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 #1,385,043 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.