GeländevsGemäldeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,717
“Gelände” frequency rank
#5,085
“Gemälde” frequency rank
7802
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gelände Gemälde
Definition irgendein Teil der Landschaft ein auf einen Träger (etwa eine Leinwand) aufgebrachtes Bild

Where the eye mixes Gelände and Gemälde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Gelände
7 ch
Gemälde

Look-alike desk: Gelände vs Gemälde

A purely visual mix-up. Gelände ([ɡəˈlɛndə]) and Gemälde ([ɡəˈmɛːldə]) 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 7802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gelände is recorded at frequency rank #2,717, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈlɛndə]. Gemälde is at rank #5,085, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈmɛːldə].

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 7802, this pair ranks #1,986,846 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gelände vs Gemälde

Shared letters: deglä. Private to "Gelände": n. Private to "Gemälde": m.

"Gelände" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "Gemälde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gelände" for "Gemälde" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈlɛndə] versus [ɡəˈmɛːldə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gelände" vs "Gemälde" - which ranks higher?
"Gelände" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,717 in our German list, against #5,085 for "Gemälde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gelände" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gemälde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,986,846 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gelände" and "Gemälde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gelände vs Gerlinde". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,986,846 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