gefundenenvsgelungenenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“gefundenen” and “gelungenen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,436
“gefundenen” frequency rank
#14,812
“gelungenen” frequency rank
31248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefundenen gelungenen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefunden Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelungen

Where the eye mixes gefundenen and gelungenen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gefundenen and gelungenen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
gefundenen
10 ch
gelungenen

Why the eye confuses gefundenen with gelungenen

A purely visual mix-up. gefundenen ([ɡəˈfʊndənən]) and gelungenen ([ɡəˈlʊŋənən]) 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 31248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefundenen is recorded at frequency rank #16,436, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfʊndənən]. gelungenen is at rank #14,812, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlʊŋənən].

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 31248, this pair ranks #1,731,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefundenen vs gelungenen

Shared letters: egnu. Private to "gefundenen": df. Private to "gelungenen": l.

"gefundenen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC  ·  "gelungenen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gefundenenegfundenen · geffundenen · gefnudenen · gefudnenen · gefunddenen · gefundeenn · gefundenenn · gefundenne
  • gelungeneneglungenen · gellungenen · gelnugenen · gelugnenen · gelunegnen · gelungeenn · gelungenenn · gelungennen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gefundenen" for "gelungenen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfʊndənən] versus [ɡəˈlʊŋənən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gefundenen" or "gelungenen"?
"gelungenen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,812 in our German list, against #16,436 for "gefundenen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "gefundenen" and "gelungenen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gefundenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gelungenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,731,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefundenen" and "gelungenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefundenen vs gefundenes". 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 #1,731,890 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list