gegrabenvsGeradenTell them apart

Quick tell: gegraben is a verb, Geraden is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gegraben” is a verb and “Geraden” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,207
“gegraben” frequency rank
#12,925
“Geraden” frequency rank
41132
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gegraben Geraden
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs graben Dativ Plural der starken Flexion des Substantivs Gerade

Where the eye mixes gegraben and Geraden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
gegraben
7 ch
Geraden

Why the eye confuses gegraben with Geraden

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gegraben is [ɡəˈɡʁaːbn̩] while Geraden is [ɡəˈʁaːdn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gegraben is recorded at frequency rank #28,207, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈɡʁaːbn̩]. Geraden is at rank #12,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈʁaːdn̩].

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 41132, this pair ranks #1,488,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gegraben vs Geraden

Shared letters: aegnr. Private to "gegraben": b. Private to "Geraden": d.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gegrabeneggraben · gegarben · geggraben · gegrabben · gegrabenn · gegrabne · gegraebn · gegrbaen
  • Geradenegraden · gearden · geradden · geradenn · geradne · geraedn · gerdaen · gerraden

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gegraben" and "Geraden" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gegraben" is a verb and "Geraden" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "gegraben" vs "Geraden" - which ranks higher?
"Geraden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,925 in our German list, against #28,207 for "gegraben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gegraben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Geraden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,488,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gegraben" and "Geraden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geraden vs gerodet". 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 #1,488,399 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