gefundenesvsgelungenesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,958
“gefundenes” frequency rank
#28,214
“gelungenes” frequency rank
74172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefundenes gelungenes
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefunden Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelungen

Where the eye mixes gefundenes and gelungenes

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

10 ch
gefundenes
10 ch
gelungenes

Why the eye confuses gefundenes with gelungenes

A purely visual mix-up. gefundenes ([ɡəˈfʊndənəs]) and gelungenes ([ɡəˈlʊŋənəs]) 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 74172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefundenes is recorded at frequency rank #45,958, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfʊndənəs]. gelungenes is at rank #28,214, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlʊŋənəs].

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 74172, this pair ranks #340,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gefundenes vs gelungenes

Shared letters: egnsu. Private to "gefundenes": df. Private to "gelungenes": l.

"gefundenes" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC  ·  "gelungenes" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gefundenesegfundenes · geffundenes · gefnudenes · gefudnenes · gefunddenes · gefundeens · gefundeness · gefundennes
  • gelungeneseglungenes · gellungenes · gelnugenes · gelugnenes · gelunegnes · gelungeens · gelungeness · gelungennes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gefundenes" for "gelungenes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfʊndənəs] versus [ɡəˈlʊŋənəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gefundenes" vs "gelungenes" - which ranks higher?
"gelungenes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,214 in our German list, against #45,958 for "gefundenes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gefundenes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gelungenes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #340,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefundenes" and "gelungenes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebundenen 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 #340,521 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