Which to use
“gefährlich” and “gefährlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,108
- “gefährlich” frequency rank
- #7,475
- “gefährlichen” frequency rank
- 9583
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefährlich | gefährlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Gefahr, Risiko verbunden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefährlich |
Where the eye mixes gefährlich and gefährlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. gefährlich runs 10 letters (CVCVCCCVCC) against gefährlichen's 12 (CVCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gefährlich vs gefährlichen
A purely visual mix-up. gefährlich ([ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪç]) and gefährlichen ([ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪçn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “gefährlich” sits inside “gefährlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefährlich is recorded at frequency rank #2,108, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪç]. gefährlichen is at rank #7,475, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪçn̩].
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 9583, this pair ranks #1,979,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefährlich vs gefährlichen
Shared letters: cefghilrä. Private to "gefährlich": -. Private to "gefährlichen": n.
"gefährlich" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCC · "gefährlichen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gefährlich" and "gefährlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "gefährlich" or "gefährlichen" 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 "gefährlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefährlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,979,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefährlich" and "gefährlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefährlichen vs gefährlichsten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,979,273 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.