Which to use
“gelaufen” is a verb and “geläufig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,894
- “gelaufen” frequency rank
- #24,348
- “geläufig” frequency rank
- 27242
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gelaufen | geläufig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs laufen | jemandem geläufig sein: bekannt, vertraut |
Where the eye mixes gelaufen and geläufig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gelaufen and geläufig follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses gelaufen with geläufig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelaufen is [ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩] while geläufig is [ɡəˈlɔɪ̯fɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gelaufen is recorded at frequency rank #2,894, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. geläufig is at rank #24,348, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlɔɪ̯fɪç].
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 27242, this pair ranks #1,804,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gelaufen vs geläufig
Shared letters: efglu. Private to "gelaufen": an. Private to "geläufig": iä.
"gelaufen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "geläufig" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gelaufen ← eglaufen · gealufen · gelafuen · gelauefn · gelaufenn · gelauffen · gelaufne · gellaufen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gelaufen" for "geläufig" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gelaufen" vs "geläufig" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gelaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "geläufig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,804,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gelaufen" and "geläufig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geläufig vs gläubig". 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 #1,804,947 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.