gefährdenvsGefährteWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: gefährden is a verb, Gefährte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#7,611
“gefährden” frequency rank
#36,349
“Gefährte” frequency rank
43960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefährden Gefährte
Definition in Gefahr bringen oder überlassen Person, die einer anderen Person durch Zuneigung oder Schicksal verbunden ist und mit der man viel Zeit verbringt, zum Beispiel auch, indem man gemeinsam etwas unternimmt

Where the eye mixes gefährden and Gefährte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gefährden runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against Gefährte's 8 (CVCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
gefährden
8 ch
Gefährte

Why the eye confuses gefährden with Gefährte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefährden is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯dn̩] while Gefährte is [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯tə]. 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 43960, 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]. Gefährte is at rank #36,349, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯tə].

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 43960, this pair ranks #1,401,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gefährden vs Gefährte

Shared letters: efghrä. Private to "gefährden": dn. Private to "Gefährte": t.

"gefährden" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "Gefährte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gefährden" and "Gefährte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gefährden" is a verb and "Gefährte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gefährden" or "Gefährte"?
"gefährden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,611 in our German list, against #36,349 for "Gefährte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "gefährden" and "Gefährte" 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 "Gefährte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,401,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefährden" and "Gefährte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefährte vs genährt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,401,547 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list