Which to use
“gefährden” is a verb and “Gefährdung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,611
- “gefährden” frequency rank
- #9,724
- “Gefährdung” frequency rank
- 17335
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefährden | Gefährdung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Gefahr bringen oder überlassen | gefährlicher Umstand, der sich negativ auf etwas/jemanden auswirken kann |
Where the eye mixes gefährden and Gefährdung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gefährden runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against Gefährdung's 10 (CVCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gefährden and Gefährdung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefährden is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dn̩] while Gefährdung is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dʊŋ]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17335, 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]. Gefährdung is at rank #9,724, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dʊŋ].
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 17335, this pair ranks #1,928,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefährden vs Gefährdung
Shared letters: defghnrä. Private to "gefährden": -. Private to "Gefährdung": u.
"gefährden" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "Gefährdung" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefährden" for "Gefährdung" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gefährden" vs "Gefährdung" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "gefährden" and "Gefährdung" 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 "Gefährdung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,928,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefährden" and "Gefährdung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefährdung vs Gefährdungen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,928,287 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.