Which to use
“Gefangene” is a noun and “gegangen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,028
- “Gefangene” frequency rank
- #1,181
- “gegangen” frequency rank
- 10209
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gefangene | gegangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weibliche Person, die gefangen ist, sich also nicht frei bewegen kann | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs gehen |
Where the eye mixes Gefangene and gegangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Gefangene runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCV) against gegangen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Gefangene and gegangen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gefangene is [ɡəˈfaŋənə] while gegangen is [ɡəˈɡaŋən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gefangene is recorded at frequency rank #9,028, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfaŋənə]. gegangen is at rank #1,181, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈɡaŋən].
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 10209, this pair ranks #1,976,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Gefangene vs gegangen
Shared letters: aegn. Private to "Gefangene": f. Private to "gegangen": -.
"Gefangene" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "gegangen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Gefangene" and "gegangen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Gefangene" vs "gegangen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gefangene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gegangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gefangene" and "gegangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefangene 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 #1,976,238 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.