gelassenvsgerissenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,203
“gelassen” frequency rank
#6,661
“gerissen” frequency rank
8864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelassen gerissen
Definition ruhig – meist trotz nervöser Atmosphäre; nicht beeindruckt auf unsympathische Weise schlau, geschäftstüchtig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gelassen and gerissen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gelassen
8 ch
gerissen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gelassen ([ɡəˈlasn̩]) and gerissen ([ɡəˈʁɪsn̩]) 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 8864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelassen is recorded at frequency rank #2,203, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlasn̩]. gerissen is at rank #6,661, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʁɪsn̩].

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 8864, this pair ranks #1,982,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gelassen vs gerissen

Shared letters: egns. Private to "gelassen": al. Private to "gerissen": ir.

"gelassen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gerissen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gelasseneglassen · gealssen · gelasen · gelasesn · gelassenn · gelassne · gelaßen · gellassen
  • gerissenegrissen · geirssen · gerisen · gerisesn · gerissenn · gerissne · gerißen · gerrissen

Frequency comparison

gelassen#2,203
gerissen#6,661

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelassen" and "gerissen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈlasn̩] versus [ɡəˈʁɪsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gelassen" or "gerissen"?
"gelassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,203 in our German list, against #6,661 for "gerissen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gelassen vs gerissen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gelassen” 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