gelbenvsgelebtenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,592
“gelben” frequency rank
#45,968
“gelebten” frequency rank
51560
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelben gelebten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelb Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelebt

Where the eye mixes gelben and gelebten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gelben runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against gelebten's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gelben
8 ch
gelebten

Visual trap between gelben and gelebten

A purely visual mix-up. gelben ([ˈɡɛlbn̩]) and gelebten ([ɡəˈleːptn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelben is recorded at frequency rank #5,592, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡɛlbn̩]. gelebten is at rank #45,968, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈleːptn̩].

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 51560, this pair ranks #1,130,785 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gelben vs gelebten

Shared letters: begln. Private to "gelben": -. Private to "gelebten": t.

"gelben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "gelebten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gelben ← eglben · geblen · gelbben · gelbenn · gelbne · gelebn · gellben · ggelben
  • gelebten ← eglebten · geelbten · gelbeten · gelebbten · gelebetn · gelebtenn · gelebtne · gelebtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gelben" for "gelebten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡɛlbn̩] versus [ɡəˈleːptn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gelben" or "gelebten"?
"gelben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,592 in our German list, against #45,968 for "gelebten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gelben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gelebten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,130,785 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gelben" and "gelebten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gelebten vs gelobten". 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 #1,130,785 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list