Which to use
“Gefangenen” is a noun and “gegangene” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,064
- “Gefangenen” frequency rank
- #48,915
- “gegangene” frequency rank
- 54979
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gefangenen | gegangene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular der starken Flexion des Substantivs Gefangener | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gegangen |
Where the eye mixes Gefangenen and gegangene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Gefangenen runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCVC) against gegangene's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Gefangenen with gegangene
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gefangenen is [ɡəˈfaŋənən] while gegangene is [ɡəˈɡaŋənə]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54979, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Gefangenen is recorded at frequency rank #6,064, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfaŋənən]. gegangene is at rank #48,915, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈɡaŋənə].
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 54979, this pair ranks #997,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Gefangenen vs gegangene
Shared letters: aegn. Private to "Gefangenen": f. Private to "gegangene": -.
"Gefangenen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC · "gegangene" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Gefangenen ← egfangenen · geafngenen · gefagnenen · gefanegnen · gefangeenn · gefangenenn · gefangenne · gefangennen
- gegangene ← eggangene · geagngene · gegagnene · geganegne · gegangeen · geganggene · gegangnee · geganngene
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Gefangenen" for "gegangene" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Gefangenen" or "gegangene" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gefangenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gegangene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #997,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gefangenen" and "gegangene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gegangene vs Gesängen". 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 #997,442 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.