gefährdenvsgefährdetenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gefährden is a verb, gefährdeten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gefährden” is a verb and “gefährdeten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,611
“gefährden” frequency rank
#21,981
“gefährdeten” frequency rank
29592
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefährden gefährdeten
Definition in Gefahr bringen oder überlassen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs gefährdet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gefährden and gefährdeten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
gefährden
11 ch
gefährdeten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefährden is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dn̩] while gefährdeten is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dətn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 29592, 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]. gefährdeten is at rank #21,981, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dətn̩].

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 29592, this pair ranks #1,763,959 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefährden vs gefährdeten

Shared letters: defghnrä. Private to "gefährden": -. Private to "gefährdeten": t.

"gefährden" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "gefährdeten" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

gefährden#7,611
gefährdeten#21,981

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gefährden" and "gefährdeten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gefährden" is a verb and "gefährdeten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gefährden" or "gefährdeten"?
"gefährden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,611 in our German list, against #21,981 for "gefährdeten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gefährden vs gefährdeten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gefährden”; for an adjective, it's “gefährdeten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gefährden” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list