Which to use
“gedrungen” and “gelungen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,670
- “gedrungen” frequency rank
- #3,315
- “gelungen” frequency rank
- 49985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gedrungen | gelungen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | klein und dabei verhältnismäßig breit | rückblickend betrachtet: positive Erwartung vollständig erfüllend, mit ganz und gar gutem Ergebnis |
Where the eye mixes gedrungen and gelungen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gedrungen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against gelungen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gedrungen and gelungen
A purely visual mix-up. gedrungen ([ɡəˈdʁʊŋən]) and gelungen ([ɡəˈlʊŋən]) 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 49985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gedrungen is recorded at frequency rank #46,670, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈdʁʊŋən]. gelungen is at rank #3,315, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlʊŋən].
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 49985, this pair ranks #1,190,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gedrungen vs gelungen
Shared letters: egnu. Private to "gedrungen": dr. Private to "gelungen": l.
"gedrungen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "gelungen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gedrungen" and "gelungen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gedrungen" or "gelungen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gedrungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,190,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gedrungen" and "gelungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedrungen vs gerungen". 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 #1,190,914 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.