gelangenvsgelangteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gelangen is a verb, gelangte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gelangen” is a verb and “gelangte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,191
“gelangen” frequency rank
#9,913
“gelangte” frequency rank
13104
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelangen gelangte
Definition ein Ziel erreichen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelangt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gelangen and gelangte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gelangen
8 ch
gelangte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gelangen and gelangte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13104, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelangen is recorded at frequency rank #3,191, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlaŋən]. gelangte is at rank #9,913, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlaŋtə].

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 13104, this pair ranks #1,960,095 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

gelangen#3,191
gelangte#9,913

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelangen" and "gelangte" be used interchangeably?
No, "gelangen" and "gelangte" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering gelangen vs gelangte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gelangen”; for an adjective, it's “gelangte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gelangen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list