gelaufenvsglaubenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,894
“gelaufen” frequency rank
#659
“glauben” frequency rank
3553
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelaufen glauben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs laufen religiös sein, an einen oder mehrere Götter glauben; in seinem Glauben überzeugt sein

Where the eye mixes gelaufen and glauben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
gelaufen
7 ch
glauben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gelaufen ([ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩]) and glauben ([ˈɡlaʊ̯bn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3553, 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]. glauben is at rank #659, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlaʊ̯bn̩].

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 3553, this pair ranks #1,999,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gelaufen vs glauben

Shared letters: aeglnu. Private to "gelaufen": f. Private to "glauben": b.

"gelaufen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "glauben" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gelaufeneglaufen · gealufen · gelafuen · gelauefn · gelaufenn · gelauffen · gelaufne · gellaufen
  • glaubengaluben · gglauben · glabuen · glaubben · glaubenn · glaubne · glauebn · gllauben

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelaufen" and "glauben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩] versus [ˈɡlaʊ̯bn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gelaufen" or "glauben"?
"glauben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #659 in our German list, against #2,894 for "gelaufen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list