Which to use
“gefährden” and “gefahren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,611
- “gefährden” frequency rank
- #1,479
- “gefahren” frequency rank
- 9090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefährden | gefahren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Gefahr bringen oder überlassen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fahren |
Where the eye mixes gefährden and gefahren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gefährden runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against gefahren's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gefährden and gefahren
A purely visual mix-up. gefährden ([ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dn̩]) and gefahren ([ɡəˈfaːʁən]) 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 9090, 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]. gefahren is at rank #1,479, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfaːʁən].
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 9090, this pair ranks #1,981,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefährden vs gefahren
Shared letters: efghnr. Private to "gefährden": dä. Private to "gefahren": a.
"gefährden" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "gefahren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gefahren ← egfahren · geafhren · gefahern · gefahhren · gefahrenn · gefahrne · gefahrren · gefarhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gefährden" and "gefahren" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gefährden" or "gefahren" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefährden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefahren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,981,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefährden" and "gefahren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefährden vs gefahrenen". 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 #1,981,508 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.