gelangvsGesangsWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#2,152
“gelang” frequency rank
#39,966
“Gesangs” frequency rank
42118
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelang Gesangs
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gelingen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gesang

Where the eye mixes gelang and Gesangs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gelang runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against Gesangs's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gelang
7 ch
Gesangs

Why the eye confuses gelang with Gesangs

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelang is [ɡəˈlaŋ] while Gesangs is [ɡəˈzaŋs]. 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 42118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelang is recorded at frequency rank #2,152, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlaŋ]. Gesangs is at rank #39,966, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈzaŋs].

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 42118, this pair ranks #1,459,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gelang vs Gesangs

Shared letters: aegn. Private to "gelang": l. Private to "Gesangs": s.

"gelang" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gesangs" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gelang ← eglang · gealng · gelagn · gelangg · gelanng · gellang · gelnag · ggelang
  • Gesangs ← egsangs · geasngs · gesagns · gesanggs · gesangss · gesanngs · gesansg · gesnags

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelang" and "Gesangs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gelang" is a verb and "Gesangs" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gelang" or "Gesangs"?
"gelang" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,152 in our German list, against #39,966 for "Gesangs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gelang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gesangs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,459,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gelang" and "Gesangs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gesängen vs Gesangs". 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 #1,459,033 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