gekanntvsgekapptWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,435
“gekannt” frequency rank
#45,966
“gekappt” frequency rank
57401
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gekannt gekappt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs kennen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs kappen

Where the eye mixes gekannt and gekappt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gekannt and gekappt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
gekannt
7 ch
gekappt

Look-alike desk: gekannt vs gekappt

A purely visual mix-up. gekannt ([ɡəˈkant]) and gekappt ([ɡəˈkapt]) 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 57401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gekannt is recorded at frequency rank #11,435, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈkant]. gekappt is at rank #45,966, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈkapt].

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 57401, this pair ranks #902,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gekannt vs gekappt

Shared letters: aegkt. Private to "gekannt": n. Private to "gekappt": p.

"gekannt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "gekappt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gekanntegkannt · geaknnt · gekanntt · gekant · gekantn · gekkannt · geknant · ggekannt
  • gekapptegkappt · geakppt · gekapptt · gekapt · gekaptp · gekkappt · gekpapt · ggekappt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gekannt" and "gekappt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈkant] versus [ɡəˈkapt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gekannt" or "gekappt"?
"gekannt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,435 in our German list, against #45,966 for "gekappt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gekannt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gekappt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #902,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gekannt" and "gekappt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gekapert vs gekappt". 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 #902,810 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