gegebenvsgegrabenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#553
“gegeben” frequency rank
#28,207
“gegraben” frequency rank
28760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gegeben gegraben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs geben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs graben

Where the eye mixes gegeben and gegraben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gegeben runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against gegraben's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
gegeben
8 ch
gegraben

Visual trap between gegeben and gegraben

A purely visual mix-up. gegeben ([ɡəˈɡeːbn̩]) and gegraben ([ɡəˈɡʁaːbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gegeben is recorded at frequency rank #553, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈɡeːbn̩]. gegraben is at rank #28,207, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈɡʁaːbn̩].

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 28760, this pair ranks #1,779,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gegeben vs gegraben

Shared letters: begn. Private to "gegeben": -. Private to "gegraben": ar.

"gegeben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "gegraben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gegebeneggeben · geegben · gegbeen · gegebben · gegebenn · gegebne · gegeebn · geggeben
  • gegrabeneggraben · gegarben · geggraben · gegrabben · gegrabenn · gegrabne · gegraebn · gegrbaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gegeben" and "gegraben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈɡeːbn̩] versus [ɡəˈɡʁaːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gegeben" or "gegraben"?
"gegeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #553 in our German list, against #28,207 for "gegraben". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gegeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gegraben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,779,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gegeben" and "gegraben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gebraten vs gegraben". 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 #1,779,131 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