Which to use
“gedrungen” is an adjective and “gerungen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,670
- “gedrungen” frequency rank
- #43,214
- “gerungen” frequency rank
- 89884
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gedrungen | gerungen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | klein und dabei verhältnismäßig breit | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ringen |
Where the eye mixes gedrungen and gerungen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between gedrungen and gerungen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gedrungen is [ɡəˈdʁʊŋən] while gerungen is [ɡəˈʁʊŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89884, 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]. gerungen is at rank #43,214, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁʊŋən].
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 89884, this pair ranks #52,630 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gedrungen vs gerungen
Shared letters: egnru. Private to "gedrungen": d. Private to "gerungen": -.
"gedrungen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "gerungen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gedrungen" for "gerungen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gedrungen" or "gerungen" 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 "gerungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,630 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gedrungen" and "gerungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemünden 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 #52,630 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.