gelangtenvsgelingenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gelangten is a adjective, gelingen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#13,147
“gelangten” frequency rank
#5,836
“gelingen” frequency rank
18983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelangten gelingen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelangt etwas erfolgreich zu Ende bringen, erfolgreich zustande kommen

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
gelangten
8 ch
gelingen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gelangten and gelingen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelangten is recorded at frequency rank #13,147, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlaŋtn̩]. gelingen is at rank #5,836, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlɪŋən].

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 18983, this pair ranks #1,912,955 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

gelangten#13,147
gelingen#5,836

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelangten" and "gelingen" be used interchangeably?
No, "gelangten" and "gelingen" 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 gelangten vs gelingen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “gelangten”; for a verb, it's “gelingen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gelangten” 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