Which to use
“gelangen” is a verb and “gelungen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,191
- “gelangen” frequency rank
- #3,315
- “gelungen” frequency rank
- 6506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gelangen | gelungen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ziel erreichen | rückblickend betrachtet: positive Erwartung vollständig erfüllend, mit ganz und gar gutem Ergebnis |
Where the eye mixes gelangen and gelungen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: gelangen vs gelungen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelangen is [ɡəˈlaŋən] while gelungen is [ɡəˈlʊŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “gelangen” becomes u in “gelungen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6506, 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]. gelungen is at rank #3,315, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlʊŋən].
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 6506, this pair ranks #1,991,410 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gelangen vs gelungen
Shared letters: egln. Private to "gelangen": a. Private to "gelungen": u.
"gelangen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gelungen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gelangen" and "gelungen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "gelangen" or "gelungen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gelangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,991,410 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gelangen" and "gelungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gegangene vs gelangen". 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 #1,991,410 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.