Which to use
“gefunden” and “gesunken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #443
- “gefunden” frequency rank
- #8,212
- “gesunken” frequency rank
- 8655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefunden | gesunken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs finden | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs sinken |
Where the eye mixes gefunden and gesunken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gefunden and gesunken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: gefunden vs gesunken
A purely visual mix-up. gefunden ([ɡəˈfʊndn̩]) and gesunken ([ɡəˈzʊŋkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefunden is recorded at frequency rank #443, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfʊndn̩]. gesunken is at rank #8,212, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈzʊŋkn̩].
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 8655, this pair ranks #1,983,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefunden vs gesunken
Shared letters: egnu. Private to "gefunden": df. Private to "gesunken": ks.
"gefunden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gesunken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefunden" for "gesunken" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gefunden" or "gesunken"?
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 "gefunden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gesunken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,983,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefunden" and "gesunken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemünden vs gesunken". 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 #1,983,411 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.