gelbenvsgelegenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,592
“gelben” frequency rank
#3,447
“gelegen” frequency rank
9039
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelben gelegen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelb nach Ort, Zeit oder Umständen willkommen, recht, dienlich

Where the eye mixes gelben and gelegen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
gelben
7 ch
gelegen

Look-alike desk: gelben vs gelegen

A purely visual mix-up. gelben ([ˈɡɛlbn̩]) and gelegen ([ɡəˈleːɡn̩]) 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 9039, 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]. gelegen is at rank #3,447, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈleːɡn̩].

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 9039, this pair ranks #1,981,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gelben vs gelegen

Shared letters: egln. Private to "gelben": b. Private to "gelegen": -.

"gelben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "gelegen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gelbeneglben · geblen · gelbben · gelbenn · gelbne · gelebn · gellben · ggelben
  • gelegeneglegen · geelgen · geleegn · gelegenn · geleggen · gelegne · gelgeen · gellegen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelben" and "gelegen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡɛlbn̩] versus [ɡəˈleːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "gelben" or "gelegen" show up more?
"gelegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,447 in our German list, against #5,592 for "gelben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gelben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gelegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,981,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gelben" and "gelegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gelben vs Gilden". 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 #1,981,703 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