Which to use
“gelben” is an adjective and “Gruben” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,592
- “gelben” frequency rank
- #19,595
- “Gruben” frequency rank
- 25187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gelben | Gruben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelb | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Grube |
Where the eye mixes gelben and Gruben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses gelben with Gruben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelben is [ˈɡɛlbn̩] while Gruben is [ˈɡʁuːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25187, 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]. Gruben is at rank #19,595, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡʁuːbn̩].
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 25187, this pair ranks #1,836,912 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gelben vs Gruben
Shared letters: begn. Private to "gelben": l. Private to "Gruben": ru.
"gelben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Gruben" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gelben" for "Gruben" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gelben" vs "Gruben" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "gelben" and "Gruben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gelben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gruben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,836,912 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gelben" and "Gruben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grobes vs Gruben". 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 #1,836,912 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.