Which to use
“gefährden” is a verb and “gefährdete” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,611
- “gefährden” frequency rank
- #27,738
- “gefährdete” frequency rank
- 35349
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefährden | gefährdete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Gefahr bringen oder überlassen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs gefährdet |
Where the eye mixes gefährden and gefährdete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gefährden runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against gefährdete's 10 (CVCVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gefährden vs gefährdete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefährden is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dn̩] while gefährdete is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dətə]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35349, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefährden is recorded at frequency rank #7,611, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dn̩]. gefährdete is at rank #27,738, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dətə].
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 35349, this pair ranks #1,642,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefährden vs gefährdete
Shared letters: defghrä. Private to "gefährden": n. Private to "gefährdete": t.
"gefährden" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "gefährdete" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefährden" for "gefährdete" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gefährden" or "gefährdete"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "gefährden" and "gefährdete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefährden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefährdete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,642,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefährden" and "gefährdete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefährdete vs Gefährte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,642,117 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.