Which to use
“gefangen” and “gelangen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,888
- “gefangen” frequency rank
- #3,191
- “gelangen” frequency rank
- 7079
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefangen | gelangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fangen | ein Ziel erreichen |
Where the eye mixes gefangen and gelangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gefangen and gelangen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: gefangen vs gelangen
A purely visual mix-up. gefangen ([ɡəˈfaŋən]) and gelangen ([ɡəˈlaŋən]) 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 a single letter - f in “gefangen” becomes l in “gelangen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefangen is recorded at frequency rank #3,888, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfaŋən]. gelangen is at rank #3,191, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlaŋən].
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 7079, this pair ranks #1,989,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefangen vs gelangen
Shared letters: aegn. Private to "gefangen": f. Private to "gelangen": l.
"gefangen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gelangen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefangen" for "gelangen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gefangen" or "gelangen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "gefangen" and "gelangen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefangen" and "gelangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefangen vs gegangene". 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 #1,989,446 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.